MESSIAH'S 



THRONE AND KINGDOM: 



OR, THE 



LOCALITY, EXTENT. AND PERPETUITY 



CHRIST'S KINGDOM, 



BY REV. J. HARKXESS. 

PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. FP=HKILL LANDING. 



NEW YORK: 
JOHN MOFFET, 82 NASSAU STREET. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, 
By J. HARKNESS, 

In tl- Clerk's Office of the District Court oft^United States for the Southern District 




E. CRAIGHEAD, Printer and Stereotyper 
53 Vesey street, New York. , 



PREFACE. 



The Bible is a good book. It is the best book. It is God's book. 
It contains a glorious system of doctrine involving the salvation of 
men, the redemption of the world, and the glory of its Author. It 
gives an epitomized history of the past, and also, by prophecy, of the 
future. In it, the curtain is lifted by divine hands, and the yet to be, 
exhibited to view and contemplation. By descriptions, figures, and 
symbols panorama-like it passes before us the great convulsions 
which have yet to agitate the nations, the tumults which have to 
distract and perplex the people : the terrible hosts which have to be 
gathered together to battle from the war-mad nations of the earth ; 
the oceans of blood which have to be shed ; and the enormous multi- 
tudes of slain to be strewn on the fields of conflict. It exhibits the 
onward progress of these things, and represents them as darkening in 
horror, until the day of the Lord dawns, and the Son of man comes 
to the redemption of His own long, long suffering people ; and this 
groaning earth, trodden down, oppressed, cursed by Satan its hellish 
god for six thousand years : and consequently ought to be studied 
by all. 

It is a great mistake to say that prophecy is a dark subject, difficult 
to be understood, cannot be understood : and therefore it is labour 
in vain to study it. Such is a reflection upon the wisdom of God, 



PREFACE. 



who has given us this large portion of His word ; and a daring im- 
peachment of His veracity, who has said, that all Scripture, and con- 
sequently the prophetic portion of Scripture, " is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;" 2 Tim. 
iii. 16. Many prophecies are easy to be understood, while others are 
more difficult, but the difficulty of some is no reason for abandoning 
the study of ail, or of any ; but on the contrary a strong argument 
for undertaking and prosecuting it with prayerful vigour and per- 
severance. And this labour shall be crowned with an abundant 
reward; for it is written, " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that 
hear the words of this prophecy, and keep these things which are 
written therein ; for the time is at hand," Rev. i. 3. But the man 
who declines the study of prophecy because it is difficult to be 
understood, virtually takes it away from the Bible— throws it aside 
branding it as worthless, though the voice of God may be heard from 
that which is rejected, uttering the awful doom of the rejecter : « If 
any man shall take away from the words of the book of this pro- 
phecVr God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out 
of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book," 
Rev. xxii. 19. 

Whatever may have been the amount of patient study and prayer- 
ful investigation of the prophetic portions of God's word, it would not 
be saying too much, to say, that it never has received all to which it 
is entitled. And in too many instances, men who seemingly wished 
to be candid and unbiassed, have entered upon the study of prophecy 
with unconscious prepossession in favour of certain views ; and con- 
sequently, instead of understanding the language in its plain gram- 
matical meaning, they have endeavoured to see in it, and bring out 
of it, an entirely different meaning — a meaning which the language 
does not express ; and which the fulfilled portions of prophecy do 
• not indicate nor sustain. They have laboured to spiritualize literality 
out of existence — out of the Bible, and make the future fulfilment of 
prophecy something very different from the past ; and that too, with 
the interpretations of God's providence withstanding them to the face. 



PREFACE. 



V 



There are perhaps more students of prophecy in the present day 
than there have been in any other age. The prediction of Daniel is 
seemingly being fulfilled ; " Many shall run to and fro ; M that is, 
many shall endeavour to search out the sense of prophecy, "and 
knowledge ;" that is, the knowledge of prophecy " shall be increased.'' 
There are doubtless more prophetic expositions from the pulpit: 
and never did the press pour forth so many volumec, interpreting 
prophecy, as it is doing at the present day. And it is worthy of 
notice, that the great majority of these, — almost the whole, many of 
which are the production of men of great talent, learning, candour 
and piety — contend for the literal interpretation. 

The views presented in the following pages are literal, and the 
arguments advanced are to establish that interpretation. It is not 
pretended that there is anything new in these, but simply an exhibi- 
tion of the truth presented in Scripture. Yet it is confessed that 
some views are set forth more plainly and extensively than the 
author has seen them in any work. Many of them were presented 
to his flock in a course of lectures, and a desire has frequently been 
expressed to see them in print. After much hesitation he has 
resolved to lay them before the public. If in the providence of God, 
they should furnish instruction to any, no matter how few, in the 
glorious revelations of the Holy Spirit to man ; or stir up others to 
engage in the study of that portion of Holy Writ, he will feel that a 
great object has been gained. His sole desire is to exhibit the truth 
of God's word — to set forth the glory yet to be revealed, as foretold 
by the spirit of prophecy, in all its mighty overwhelming influence, 
for the conversion of sinners, and the edification of God's people ; 
and his earnest prayer is, that God would bless his humble 
endeavour. 

J. H. 

Fishkill Landing, February 24, 1854. 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER L 



David and Messiah's Throne. 

PAGE 

Gabriel employed by God to make revelations, .... 1 
u explains to Daniel his symbolic dream, 3 
" explains to Daniel his vision of the Ram and He-Goat, . 4 
" reveals to Daniel the mystery of the resurrection, . . 5 

Prophecy silent ; Gabriel in heaven, 6 

Gabriel's annunciation to the Virgin, ...... 7 

The calling and anointing David king, 8 

David saved from the murderous attempts of Saul, . . .11 
" chosen and anointed king by the people, . . . .12 

David's throne, 13 

* u to be given to Messiah, 16 

Messiah's throne not spiritual, 1Y 

u " not the human heart, 25 

" " literal, 29 

Prophecy literally fulfilled, 31 

David's throne rebuilt, 36 

Dr. Campbell's view of "The Kingdom of God," .... 88 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 



Messiah's Kingdom. 

PAGE 

Prophecy literally fulfilled, 49 

God's covenant with Abraham, . . « . . . .52 

" sign of fulfilling the covenant, 53 

The covenant renewed and another sign given, .... 54 

" to Isaac, 56 

" " to Jacob, 5*7 

Jacob believed in the literal fulfilment of the promise, ... 59 

The promise not yet fulfilled, 59 

Abraham, &c, must be raised from the grave to inherit the Land, 62 

Ezek. xxxvii., .......... 63 

Resurrection of bones not symbolical, 67 

Israel all the descendants of Abraham, 70 

Gabriel quotes Ezek., . . . . . . . . .71 

Israel's hope not lost, 71 

Israel not cut off from their parts, 73 

The thing promised in the Abrahamic covenant and the gospel 

one, V, r •* - : .'>• v . . . . • > •>:*■*»"'••.. « 74 

Deceased patriarchs and saints not perfect, 75 

Gathering of the dispersed Jews, 77 

These gathered from the House of Israel, 84 

David means Christ, 84 

Risen and gathered Israel a great multitude, . . . .85 

The extent of the Kingdom great, 86 

Land of Israel the centre of the earth, 89 

The surrounding countries subject to Israel, .... 90 

Israel chief among the nations, 91 

Converted Israel missionaries to all the earth, . . . .93 

The nations converted by them, 95 

No millennium till the binding of Satan, 97 

When Satan is bound the truth is universally received, . . 98 

Messiah's kingdom universal, 101 

literal, 104 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 
The Duration of Messiah's Kingdom:. 



The duration of the earth eternal, . . 
Peter does not teach the annihilation of the earth 
The earth the subject of great changes, 
Christ's return to earth, .... 
Christ remains on the earth, 

* a king for ever over Israel, 
Christ's kingdom set up, .... 

" " destroys all others, . 

? " eternal, 

The millennial age, ..... 
The blessedness of Christ's reign, . 
Some remains of sin, ..... 
Three classes on earth during the millennium, 
Wickedness breaks forth at its close, 

Satan overthrown, 

The second resurrection, .... 
The resurrection of the wicked, . 
The earth perfectly purified. 



The restitution of all things, 
The increase of the race in the eternal kingdom, 

" not derogatory to men nor Christ, 
To this state of increase all things are tending, 
Th increase of the race worthy of God, 
The analogy of nature and the merits of the atonemt 

'■ increase of the race, .... 
The increase of the race taught in Scripture, 



PiG 
11 



CHAPTER IV 

The Time when the Kingdom shall be given to Messiah. 

The time of giving the kingdom pointed out by Daniel, 

" pointed out by Paul, ....... 



184 
190 



X 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE 

The time indicated by the conversion of Israel, . . . .191 
" indicated by Peter, . . . " . . . . 192 

" indicated by Paul in Romans, 193 

When the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, . , . .194 
The kingdom given to Messiah upon his return to earth, . .195 
The probable date, ,191 

CHAPTER V. 

By Whom the Kingdom is to be given to Messiah. 

By the Lord God, 203 

Daniel in vision saw the kingdom given to Messiah, . . . 204 

Conclusion, 206 

The blessedness that shall prevail in the kingdom, . . . 206 

The duty of waiting for this kingdom, . . . . • . . 208 

The influence which the certain introduction of the kingdom 

should have upon our mind, . . . . . .211 

Appeal to the reader, . 215 



CHAPTER L 



dayid axd Messiah's throne, 

w The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father 
David : and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever : and of 
his kingdom there shall be no end.' 5 ' — Luke i. 32, 33. 

The angel Gabriel was a distinguished and highly 
renowned servant of Jehovah. He was repeatedly 
employed by God to reveal his wonderful purposes of 
mercy, involving the salvation of a world dead in sin : 
and M the exceeding and eternal weight of glory " in 
sure reserve for believers in Christ Jesus. Among 
these revelations the future and glorious kingdom of 
Messiah, destined ultimately to destroy and supersede 
all other great and hoary kingdoms, and endure unri- 
valled and unshaken for ever, in which redeemed men 
shall be absolutely holy and supremely blessed ; the 
kingdom of which all the prophets in their turn have 
•spoken, and sung in rapturous strains, and described in 
glowing language and imagery — to which patriarchs 
and holy men in every age have, by the eye of faith, 
looked forward, with longing, burning desire, and fier- 

1 



2 



dayid and Messiah's throne. 



vently wished to see — for the speedy coming of which 
the faithful upon earth have ever prayed, and are even 
now, with the same heaven-enkindled desire, praying 
and sending up one loud and earnest burst of supplica- 
tion, for which the whole creation now subject to 
vanity, bondage, the curse for man's disobedience, are 
groaning and travailing in pain together, and are in 
throes of dreadful agony — for which the souls under 
the altar, crying for the Lord to avenge their blood, 
are anxiously waiting — and to which the spirits 
gathered out of all nations round about the throne are 
looking forward as their peculiar possession, as their 
incorruptible inheritance — holds a conspicuous place, 
and rises up by his divine revelations in matchless 
beauty and glory to our view. He exhibits that king- 
dom as the burden, the consummation, the most glori- 
ous thing, which by God he was commissioned to 
reveal. Other truths which he makes known may be 
like stars in the midnight sky; but this he ushers in 
and makes it shine like the bright, the morning star ; 
like the rising sun upon a long, dark, dreary night. All 
the glory of the other truths, like so many streams 
rolling to the ocean, concentrates here, and shines in 
united, unclouded blaze. It forms the new, the glorious 
creation " of the restitution of all things." 

Gabriel's eye seems to rest peculiarly upon Messiah's 
glorious kingdom, and his knowledge of it appears 
great and extensive, and his views clear and impres- 
sive. To him intervening kingdoms have seemingly 



dayid and Messiah's throne. 



3 



passed away ; a long, unobstructed vista opening far 
down the future discloses the coming kingdom, and he 
stands and gazes upon it with thrilling delight, and 
watches its onward progress. And hence, graphically 
he describes its coming, the attending magnificent 
pomp, its unrivalled greatness, its unclouded glory, its 
unsuffering blessedness, and its endless perpetuity. 
He, too, represents Jesus the King occupying its lofty 
and glorious throne ; swaying his peaceful sceptre over 
its far extending domains ; subduing all things unto 
himself; and all in blissful obedience serving him — 
falling down, joyfully and sincerely worshipping him. 

It was the angel Gabriel, so peculiarly instructed in 
the mysteries of this kingdom, that explained to Daniel 
his symbolical dream, and those full of trouble visions 
of his head which he had upon his bed. He informed 
him, a prince of dreamers, who understood not the 
visions which passed before his view, nor saw in them 
a revelation of events, and scenes reaching far into the 
future, deeply affecting the interests of men and the 
glory of God, that the four great beasts which he saw 
were four great kings or kingdoms, which should rise 
in succession out of the earth, out of this world, out of 
the wisdom, policy, and prowess of men. and succes- 
sively destroy each other. He t :hat in the 
last, or fourth kingdom, which cc .it some of 
the polity of all the preceding, i was to be 
by far the mightiest — " a horn/ 7 1 of power, 
" that had eyes and a mouth sp« eat things," 



4 



david and Messiah's throne. 



"which is Popery, would arise, and in its antichrist 
spirit make increasing war with the saints, and prevail 
against them. That it would manifest towards them 
burning hatred, and ever thirst for their blood until 
the Ancient of Days come to destroy this persecuting 
one, and judgment be given to the persecuted people 
of the saints of the Most High ; and the time come 
when the saints, being delivered from his power, and 
he utterly destroyed, shall possess the kingdom erected 
by the Lord Jesus Christ upon the ruins of his — upon 
the earth. 

This same angel, so profoundly instructed in Mes- 
siah's pre-eminent regal dignity and authority; his 
kingdom and government yet to be ushered in to the 
redemption and joy of the whole earth, also explained 
to Daniel his vision of the ram and the goat. He 
showed him, that the beasts which appeared in that 
vision, were symbolical of earthly powers and king- 
doms. Thus the last and greatest, the Roman, the 
antichristian, the papal, combining in it all the evils 
of popery, and concentrating all its powers of hostility, 
would engage in conflict with its far superior, the 
Prince of Peace, and that he would utterly consume 
and destroy it. T it conflict, however, so terrible 
and destruc* nature, would not take place till 

the time oft ntichrist would retain possession 

of his kingdc s the time of its duration drew 

nearer a clo uld have recourse to cunning, 

deceptive dc crafty stratagems, which would 



dayid and Messiah's teroxe. 



5 



prove successful for extending his dominion, and 
increasing his power over the hearts and souls of men. 
He intimated that that power would increase, and with 
its growing ascendency over the power that kept it in 
check, would become more bloodthirsty and persecut- 
ing, and would, with more unrelenting cruelty, put 
to death the saints of the Most High. This power, 
not to be controlled nor changed by the agency of 
men, would continue till the Son of Man or the Prince 
of princes came to this earth to consume it by the 
breath of his mouth — to give it, and them who exercise 
it, to devouring flame. 

Closely connected with all this, and as forming a 
part of the glorious whole, Gabriel may be viewed as 
revealing to Daniel the mystery of the resurrection of 
the body. He showed him the saints sleeping in the 
earth, reposing in their clay cold beds, waiting the 
days of their appointed time for their coming change, 
awaking from its long repose their dust, which had 
been trodden under the feet of many generations, and 
nations unnoticed and unknown, becoming instinct 
with new and immortal life, and hastening together 
under the strange and wonder-working wisdom and 
power of God, and forming magnificent structures, 
fashioned like unto the glorious humanity of Immanuel. 
Xor do his glorious visions terminate here. The graves 
of the saints not only appear despoiled of their trea- 
sures, and the holy ones who slept therein, alive and 
enrobed in the righteousness of their Redeemer, but the 



6 



dayid and Messiah's throne. 



curtain is lifted, and a scene is disclosed far more mag- 
nificent than that which presented itself to the eye of 
Moses, when he surveyed the Holy Land from the top of 
Pisgah ; or to the eye of Balaam, when he looked upon 
the goodly tents of Jacob, and the tabernacles of 
Israel. Messiah's kingdom appears, with the king 
himself, and his many crowns upon his head, occupying 
the throne, surrounded by his redeemed ones ; his 
bride supremely happy in the abounding joys of his 
presence. This magnificent climax— the dawning of a 
far more glorious dispensation than any that has 
blessed the earth, since the dark hour that Adam's dis- 
obedience blighted and forfeited the joys of Eden — 
concludes the Book of Daniel, and Gabriel's interpre- 
tations and revelations to him. 

This great expounder of Daniel's dreams and visions, 
so far as inspired testimony is concerned, returned to 
the pavilion of eternity and the presence of his God, 
and there remained for ages and centuries. For a 
season at least his labours seemed to be done. No 
spirit favoured with divine dreams and visions seems to 
have appeared wrestling before God for an interpreter 
to expound these ; and, consequently, no command was 
given by Jehovah for Gabriel to fly swiftly to earth as 
an expounder of such. Centuries rolled on during 
which Gabriel appears standing before the throne 
waiting with all eagerness to have his commission 
renewed, and be sent by God upon errands of pro- 
phetic revelation. His eye seems full of earnest 



DAVID AND MESSIAH S THRONE. 



3 



watchfulness ; his ear open and listening to catch the 
very first word of any message that may be intrusted 
to him ; his ready wing quivers with impatience to 
fulfil the pleasure of God, in whose presence he stands. 
The moment at last comes for him to resume his 
labours : he is commissioned to earth to the temple at 
Jerusalem, to Zacharias ministering before the altar of 
incense, to assure him that his prayer was heard, and 
that he should have a son, notwithstanding he and his 
wife were well stricken in years, and instruct him to 
call his ehild ? s name John. 

Six months after this God sends him forth again. 
From the throne of the Eternal he speeds his flight to 
the obscure city of Xazareth, little known among the 
cities of the earth ; and to the Virgin Mary of the 
seed of David, yet less known and renowned among 
the distinguished and honourable women of the land. 
To this obscure woman, little if at all known beyond 
her family circle, though Isaiah had sung of her seven 
hundred years before, in prophetic rapturous song, 
Gabriel hastened. He had a message from God, a 
momentous message, to her and all the world. The 
few words of that message involved the glorious and 
momentous burden of all the visions and dreams of 
Daniel which he explained to him. It announced to 
Mary the conception, the birth, the name, the future 
greatness, of the Son of the Highest j the extent, the 
glory, and the perpetuity of his kingdom. 

The part of the angelic message and prophecy refer- 



8 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



ring to the conception, birth, and name of Messiah, we 
pass over at present, and proceed to examine and illus- 
trate that portion referring to his regal character and 
authority. " The Lord God shall give unto him the 
throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over 
the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there 
shall be no end. 7 ' 

The angel Gabriel here declares David to be the 
father of Jesus Christ, of course according to the 
flesh ; and distinctly teaches that he had been a king, 
and occupied a throne ; and that this kingdom and 
throne, once honored by the occupancy and govern- 
ment of David, were yet, by the Lord God, to be given 
to his Son Jesus, and that Jesus was to sit upon that 
throne, reign over, rule, and govern that people. 

David was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, 
and a lineal descendant of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and 
Abraham. These his illustrious ancestors, renowned 
for their strong and unwavering faith, rose up in 
Goliath-like stature among the believing of their age. 
Their works, wrought by the mighty power of this 
divine principle, stand in unrivalled magnitude on 
earth's historic page. Their deep, vital piety mani- 
fested itself in living power in all their conduct, and 
in tiieir sincere friendship to God. From him in whom 
they so firmly believed, so fervently loved, and 
devoutly feared, they received exceeding great and 
precious promises for themselves and their children. 
Some of these promises, and the great Abrahamic cove- 



DAVID AXD MESSIAHS THRONE. 



9 



nant, have not yet been fulfilled, but doubtless shall be 
when Grod ? s set time comes. The dying Jacob, whose 
heavenly unsealed eye looked down the long vista of 
futurity, and through many intervening events, and 
rested upon the glories of a far remote day, whose 
blissful hours have not yet appeared on the roll of 
time, breathed out the following prophetic blessing 
upon Judah. and through him and his descendants upon 
the house and family of David, and upon his royal seed 
too : w Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall 
praise ; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies ; 
thy father's children shall bow before thee. Judah is 
a lion's whelp : from the prey, my son, thou art gone 
up ; he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an 
old lion who shall rouse him ? The sceptre shall not 
depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather- 
ing of the people be." 

In progress of fulfilment of this prophetic benedic- 
tion, full of glorious meaning, and fraught with the 
most important and blissful consequences to all sub- 
sequent generations — exalting Judah's descendants to 
regal authority, God commissioned his prophet Samuel 
to Bethlehem, to anoint one of the sons of Jesse king 
of Israel. The prophet, in obedience to the divine 
mandate, having reached the house of that venerable 
and pious servant of the Most High, by direct inspira- 
tion and divine authority, rejected one son after 
another, and refused to anoint any as king of Israel 

1* 



10 DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 

till lie came to the youngest. David, then a ruddy 
youth of fifteen years, dreaming and caring little about 
sceptres, thrones, and kingdoms, was on the plains of 
Bethlehem keeping his father's flocks, and tending 
the ewes great with young ; tuning his divine, conse- 
crated harp, in sweetest, holiest strains, to the God of 
Israel, and pouring his pious anthems upon midnight's 
stilly hour, at the prophet's request was called home. 
As soon as Samuel saw the beautiful youth standing in 
his presence, he knew by divine intimation, by the 
clear revelation of God in his soul, that this was he 
whom God, in the exercise of his sovereign pleasure, 
had chosen to be the king of Israel, the successor of 
Saul ; and accordingly, with all the solemnity which 
the occasion and work required, he " took the horn of 

011 and anointed him in the midst of his brethren ; and 
the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day 
forward." That act, by the special choice, appoint- 
ment, and authority of God, made him king of Israel, 
God's own chosen and anointed king. And while 
Samuel anointed him with the holy oil, which by 
divine authority he had prepared, God anointed him 
with the Holy Ghost, thereby qualifying him for the 
performance of all the important duties devolving 
upon him when he should occupy the throne, and rule 
Israel. 

The very manner, then, in which David was chosen 
and anointed king, strongly prognosticated and insured 
his future greatness. Chosen of God, and the Spirit 



DAVID "AXD MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



11 



of the Lord resting upon him, it was fairly to be pre- 
sumed that all his plans would be laid in the wisdom 
and fear of God ; that they would be acted out by the 
omnipotent help of God ; and consequently that all 
his undertakings would be crowned with peculiar 
success. And that such was the case the whole history 
of this man, who was a man according to God's own 
heart, clearly shows and triumphantly proves. 

The military valour and skill, and noble conduct of 
the divinely-anointed David, in all public matters 
involving the interests of the community, soon gained 
and secured for him the warm and strong affections of 
the people. When Saul saw the strong attachment 
and regard which the people manifested to him whom 
the Lord had secretly anointed their king, his jealousy 
was aroused, his hatred was inveterate and vindictive, 
and, with desperate determination, he resolved upon 
his murder. Once and again, by various stratagems 
and feigned madness, he sought to slay him, as if by 
accident. Failing in one effort, he had recourse to 
others to put him to death ; but God, who had 
decreed, and by his prophet anointed, him to be the 
king of Israel, kept him in the hollow of his hand as 
in a strong fortified tower ; guarded him by his invi- 
sible and omnipotent providence as by a wall of ada- 
mant, so that every plan and attempt of Saul to have 
him slain signally failed. The plan of " him who rules 
in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of 
the earth 99 was acted out in every respect, and to the 



12 



david and Messiah's throne. 



fullest extent. All the stratagems of Saul proved 
abortive in destroying the counsel of God, or subvert- 
ing his purposes. In due time David was, by the same 
overruling providence that called him to be, and 
anointed him king of Israel, and preserved him from 
Saul's cunning attempts to destroy his life, elevated to 
rule his people Israel. 

After to him many painful and severe trials and 
dangerous wars, to which it is now unnecessary to 
advert, David, by the immediate direction of God, who 
had promised him the kingdom, and by the hand of 
Samuel anointed him to the office of king, left Ziklag 
and went up to Hebron, the capital of Judah. When 
the Lord's chosen appeared in that city, in accordance 
with the divine purpose, God doubtless working 
secretly upoif their heart, the rulers of that tribe 
voluntarily chose and anointed him their king. He 
reigned seven years and six months over the house of 
Judah ; and during that whole period he might be 
said to be engaged in contests with the other tribes. 
At the end of that time they also, without doubt under 
divine influence upon their hearts, renounced their hos- 
tility to him, and chose him to be their king, according 
to the word of the Lord by Samuel, and sent an em- 
bassy to him to that effect. He accepted their pro- 
posal, which was in perfect accordance with the pur- 
pose of God ; and now, by an overruling providence, 
carrying out his infinitely wise purposes, he became 
king of all Israel, and they, the highly honoured and 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE . 



13 



favoured of God. his loyal people. The first act of his 
reign over the united tribes, was the besieging of 
Jebus, or Jerusalem, the citadel of which, called Zion, 
had hitherto remained in the possession of the Jebu- 
sites. That stronghold was soon taken by that suc- 
cessful warrior, who never lost a battle ; and as the 
city was conveniently situated in the boundaries of 
Judah and Benjamin, and in the territory of both, it 
became the metropolis of the kingdom. Here the 
royal monarch took up his residence ; and upon the 
sacred hill of Zion, where Abraham s faith was about 
to offer his son Isaac ages before, built his royal and 
magnificent palace. Here, in that palace, built upon 
that holy hill, he erected his throne, or visible kingly 
seat, " for there were set the thrones of judgment, the 
thrones of the house of David.' 7 It was upon the 
throne in this palace that he sat dispensing justice and 
judgment to his people, and ruling over them with his 
mild and merciful sceptre. 

That David had in his palace a throne, or magnifi- 
cent kingly seat, upon which he appeared in royal 
attire on certain occasions before the heads, the 
nobles, and rulers of the people, and for the perform- 
ance of certain regal duties, admits not of doubt, for 
such was the custom of the East ; and such thrones, or 
seats, in those days, as well as in the present, had all 
eastern kings. It were strange, indeed, if David had 
been an exception from this universal kingly custom, 
and if while all other kings had their thrones, he had 



14 



david and Messiah's throne. 



not his ! Nor is this made certain merely by eastern 
habits, bat more especially by the sure word of God, 
which clearly teaches that David had, and did occupy 
a throne. Again and again, does Scripture make 
mention of that throne, and abounds with evidence, 
that while he sat upon that throne he exercised a 
literal and visible rule over the privileged, the glo- 
rious, and far-renowned people of God. The same 
evidence, also, conclusively proves that this was the 
only throne which David ever occupied. He never 
had, he never sat upon another. He never sat king 
upon any other throne, or any other kind of throne 
than this. 

And doubtless this throne, which was the throne of 
Israel to which David was raised by divine and imme- 
diate interposition, as we have seen, was the most 
noble and honourable of all earthly thrones, and shall 
be had in delightful and everlasting remembrance, 
when all others have crumbled into dust, and been 
buried in hoary oblivion ; for it was the throne of 
Jerusalem, the city of the great king ; the throne of 
the most distinguished and exalted people, the people 
of Israel, the chosen nation of the Lord, " to whom 
pertained the adoption, and the covenants, and the 
promises." Upon that literal throne, the throne of 
God's chosen people, Israel, David literally sat ; and 
over that people and kingdom he literally reigned 
three and thirty years, as history, both sacred and 
profane, clearly testifies. 



DAVID AXD MESSIAHS THRONE. 



15 



Now, let this important truth be kept in remem- 
brance, that that throne upon which David sat was a 
literal, visible, material throne, in Jerusalem : that the 
kingdom over which he reigned was a literal kingdom 
upon earth, the territory of Judea, in Asia Minor, 
whose boundaries are as distinctly defined as thfise of 
any other earthly kingdom; and that the Israelites, 
who were the privileged subjects of his government, 
were a literal people. Of the literality of ail these no 
doubt can be entertained, neither can any arguments 
be adduced to disprove it. "With as much rationality 
might we doubt the literality of any kingly throne now 
upon the earth, or of the government existing in the 
present day in any of the old doomed dynasties of 
Europe. This throne, then, upon which David sat 
and ruled God's elect nation, was doubtless, according 
to the proof already adduced, a literal throne, and 
was, as we have already seen, the only throne upon 
which he ever sat or possessed. The idea of his occu- 
pying a spiritual throne, or ruling or reigning spiritu- 
ally in the hearts of the people of Israel, is so prepos- 
terous and absurd, and we might add blasphemous 
withal, if it ever entered into any mind, that it is 
unworthy of a grave reply. It was, then, of the literal 
throne of Israel in Jerusalem upon which David sat 
that the angel Gabriel, speaking by the Holy Ghost, 
said, and the declaration must ever be regarded as the 
words of soberness, and truth, and inspiration, the 
words of God himself : " The Lord God shall give 



16 



david and Messiah's throne. 



unto the Son of the Highest," Jesus Christ, " the 
throne of his father David." 

Here, then, we have, from the lips of the divinely- 
commissioned Gabriel, a solemn promise to the Virgin 
Mary, that the Lord God would give to the Son to 
whom she was to give birth the throne of David. 
Now, as to the fulfilment of the prediction and promise 
no doubt can be entertained. They must, they will be 
fulfilled, for the Lord's word shall stand, and he will 
do all his pleasure. He will not alter nor change the 
thing that has gone out of his mouth. Though the 
time of fulfilment should seem to tarry, yet it will 
come, and come too at the set time, for God cannot 
forget nor disavow his promise, neither can he break 
or profane his covenant. The question, then, is not, 
Will the Lord fulfil his promise ; will he give to the 
Son of the Yirgin, Jesus Christ, the throne of his 
father David ? the question is, How will he do it ? 
Shall this prediction and covenant be spiritually or 
literally fulfilled ? Shall Christ sit spiritually and 
reign spiritually ; or shall he sit literally and reign 
literally upon his father David's throne ? 

The question just proposed is a very important one, 
and, in some respects, a difficult one to be satisfactorily 
answered, because men of learning, piety, and talents 
are to be found on each side, and advocating with 
equal zeal the opposing views. Some contend that the 
prediction will be spiritually, some that it will be 
literally fulfilled. This is a subject that has been 



DAVID AND MESSIAHS THRONE. 



IT 



keenly debated since the days of Origen, the great 
and perhaps first a!lego?*ist, and the debate is not yet 
ended, for interpreters of the Scriptures are yet pro- 
pounding and endeavouring to prove as scriptural their 
conflicting views. 

Those who contend for the spiritual interpretation 
of the passage, deny, that Jesus Christ will ever sit 
personally, that is, as God-man, in glorified humanity 
upon the rebuilt throne of his father David, and reign 
visibly in Jerusalem over the house of Jacob, or 
Heaven's highly-favoured people, Israel : or that he 
will ever appear in person a reigning king upon the 
earth ; and maintain that he will only sit spiritually, 
and reign spiritually, upon David's throne, and have in 
them and over them a spiritual kingdom ; they main- 
tain that Christ will not be upon earth, will not have 
any visible throne upon earth, will not be a visible 
reigning king upon earth, but that he will reign only 
by his Spirit in the hearts of his people. Xow that 
Jesus Christ will reign spiritually over his people by 
his Holy Spirit working by his mighty influences in 
their hearts is incontrovertibly a truth, and a very 
important and glorious truth too ; but it may be, yes 
it has been questioned, whether it is the truth taught 
in the prediction ; and that is the consideration which 
now demands attention. 

Xow, to persuade the unprejudiced mind that this is 
the meaning of the passage, in all fairness it must be 
shown, that David had a spiritual throne j that he 



18 



david and Messiah's throne. 



could and did sit spiritually upon that throne ; that 
his government was in verity a spiritual government, 
and his kingdom a spiritual kingdom ; for until this is 
done it is impossible to see how the prediction can be 
actually and in verity fulfilled. If David had such a 
throne, a spiritual throne, surely we need to have it 
explained what that throne was, and how David, who 
was a mere man like ourselves, could sit upon that 
spiritual throne ; how material man could occupy a 
spiritual seat. If David had not such a throne, then 
this throne, which was not David's, could not be pro- 
mised to Christ. But David's throne was promised to 
Christ ; and David's throne was, as we have seen, a 
material throne, consequently it was David's material 
throne that was promised to Christ ; and when this 
promise is fulfilled Christ must, Christ will, sit upon 
David's material throne. He cannot sit upon any 
other, for David never had another ; and if he sits upon 
any other he sits upon what was not David's, and upon 
what was not implied in the promise, and consequently 
the promise of God to his Son remains unfulfilled, ever 
unfulfilled. And when we think of a spiritual throne 
we think of something we cannot understand ; and the 
more we endeavour to comprehend the idea the more 
does it elude our comprehension ; and it is precisely 
so with regard to Christ's sitting spiritually upon that 
throne. 

"We cannot give up the throne, and the sitting upon 
that throne, as a mere figure of speech, to accommo- 



datid axd Messiah's throxe. 



19 



date another interpretation, because David had his 
literal throne, and did literally sit upon that throne, 
and that throne was the throne promised to the 
Virgin's Son, and promised certainly that, like his 
father David, he might sit upon it. This is the plain, 
grammatical meaning of the passage, and the only idea 
that would be conveyed to the mind of an unbiased 
reader. But while we contend for the literality of the 
throne, and sitting upon the throne, it is not for a 
moment to be supposed that it is denied, or even insi- 
nuated, that Christ does not reign by his Spirit in the 
hearts and over his people. That is a precious truth, 
a divine prerogative of Christ, most cordially admitted, 
and in which we supremely delight, and regard as 
indispensably necessary to his glory and our being 
made perfect in holiness. In this way he reigned in 
the first renewed heart, the heart of Abel, who offered 
a more acceptable sacrifice than his brother, and for 
the admission of whose spirit the gates of paradise were 
first thrown open. And he has so reigned in the heart 
of every believer, under every dispensation, from that 
early period to the present hour ; and if this is all 
that is meant by the throne of his father David being 
given to Jesus, it was only promising to give to him 
what he already, and had always, possessed. According 
to this interpretation, nothing new was promised, and 
nothing new would be given. The promise is indeed 
without meaning. Nor is the difficulty removed by 
contending that the reign in this spiritual sense shall 



20 



david and Messiah's throne. 



be more extensive, shall be over mankind generally, 
shall be over earth's inhabitants, for the nature of the 
reign is the same — spiritual, and by the Spirit in the 
hearts of men. A mere extension of the government, 
no matter how great that extension may be, cannot in 
the nature of things change the nature and manner of 
the government itself, cannot introduce the king him- 
self, and set him personally upon a visible material 
throne. And surely no man, upon mature reflection, 
could suppose the Spirit of God capable of such tri- 
fling as this ; and consequently there seems no clear 
and Scriptural evidence that the prediction is to be 
understood spiritually ; and that it shall be in verity, 
and to the fullest extent, fulfilled, by Christ reigning 
merely in the hearts of his people, or spiritually over 
them, and without appearing visibly and personally in 
the midst of them. 

But if, after all, it should be asserted and maintained, 
as perhaps it may be, that Christ is now spiritually 
occupying David's spiritual throne, and spiritually 
reigning over the spiritual house of Jacob; and that this 
reign is destined to increase till it is exercised every- 
where, and over every inhabitant of the earth, then we 
confess our ignorance, and declare that we do not 
know what the spiritual throne of David means, and 
humbly ask information. If it should be replied, by 
way of instruction, " David's spiritual throne is the 
throne of the believer's heart," we would then ask the 
wise teacher, Where is this instruction to be obtained ? 



david and Messiah's throne. 



21 



Is it to be found in the Bible? If so, designate the 
place, that all may read, learn, and understand. So 
far as we understand the Bible, the throne of the 
believer's heart is not the throne of David, but the 
throne of the Majesty on high — God's throne. If then 
the throne of the believer's heart be the throne of God, 
and surely this is what God claims for himself, it must 
be blasphemy to call God's throne, the throne of David. 
If this then be a fair and legitimate conclusion, if it 
be a great Bible truth, then every one who thus spiri- 
tualizes the passage is a blasphemer, for he sets David 
upon the throne of God. But this is a sin from which 
many who hold the spiritual interpretation, would 
shrink if they could see it precisely in this light. Nor 
is this all ; but if it be a fair and right interpretation 
thus to spiritualize the first part of the prophecy, so 
must it, by parity of reasoning and all sound principles 
of philology, to interpret every other part of the pro- 
phecy. No man who is not under some peculiar bias 
will deny this. If then spiritualists will have the first 
part of the prophecy thus interpreted, surely they 
cannot object, and they have no right to complain, if 
we interpret what remains according to the same rule. 
If Christ's sitting upon David's throne, and ruling his 
people Israel, be spiritual and invisible, then his being 
• born of the Virgin is also spiritual and invisible. And 
what such a birth would be we pretend not to know, 
neither of it are we able to form any conception, and 
therefore leave those who teach and advocate such a 



22 



david and Messiah's throne. 



mode of expounding the Scriptures to explain. If one 
act be spiritual, according to the laws of sound phi- 
lology so must every other in the same passage — his 
birth as well as his government, his birthplace as well 
as his kingdom. But if this mode of interpretation is 
introduced — of spiritualizing when the language is not 
metaphorical — where shall it end ? Where but in the 
mazes of endless error ? 

Isaiah speaks of Christ's throne and kingdom, in 
such language as seems to exclude the very possibility 
of the idea of their being spiritual or metaphorical, 
when he says : " For unto us a child is born, unto us a 
Son is given ; and the government shall be upon his 
shoulder ; and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counsellor, the Mighty G-od, the Everlasting Father, 
the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne 
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to 
establish it with judgment and with justice, from 
henceforth even for ever." If this language has any 
meaning it certainly is, that the child born and the 
Son given shall sit as David did, personally and visibly 
upon his throne, the throne of Israel ; and that he shall 
reign king of Israel as David did. His government 
will be like David's, literal, but of a far superior cha- 
racter, being absolutely righteous and holy. It will 
not do merely to deny that this is the meaning of the 
passage, and assert that the language is metaphorical 
and the acts spiritual. It must be proved that the 



david and Messiah's throne. 



23 



language is metaphorical, and consequently that the 
throne and government are spiritual. . But this 
involves serious difficulties, inasmuch as all that is 
here said of his government and the duties which he 
as king is to perform are evidently — except the phrase 
" the government shall be upon his shoulder, 77 which 
intimates that the whole rule is to be on him and by 
him — to be exercised by him, and not by any other. 

But if they will have Christ's throne, kingdom, and 
government to be spiritual and not literal ; then it is 
but right that they should show divine authority for 
holding and contending for such a view. Assertion is 
not sufficient to secure belief. Proof is wanted and 
demanded. The interpretation is called in question 
unless they can show, that they have this by special 
revelation from God, or that all the other parts of the 
passage are to be metaphorically understood ; or that 
this is in accordance with the interpretation of all 
prophecy, and its fulfilment too, as far as it has been 
fulfilled in the course of divine providence. Taking 
their rule of interpretation, which would be perfectly 
fair, and applying it to the other parts of the prophecy, 
what meaning would be brought out ? It would teach 
that Jesus Christ was Spiritually born. But in what 
sense can the Son of the Virgin, the God-man, be spirit- 
ually born? He was flesh of our flesh, really and truly 
man, and how could his birth, when born of Mary, be a 
spiritual or metaphorical birth ? How could this the 
Son, really man as well as God, be given spiritually to 



21 dayid and Messiah's throne. 

the Israelites as a Son? Imagination and intellect 
must equally fail in explaining these difficulties, which 
have their origin in the spiritualizing system of expo- 
sition. But perhaps it may be replied, these are to be 
understood literally. If so, then all acknowledged 
rules of interpretation are thrown aside, or set at defi- 
ance, and caprice is made the standard. And still fur- 
ther, if we are to understand His name, 11 Wonderful, 
Counsellor ; the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, 
the Prince of Peace," as here given spiritually, what is 
the conclusion to which we will be led ? Simply this — 
that if they are to be understood spiritually they are 
not literally true. This is beyond all controversy the 
case. Then, if the various appellations here given as 
the name of Christ are not literally true, he is not, he 
cannot be a divine person. He is not God, but only in 
some respects, it may be difficult to say what, like him. 
This is an awful and revolting conclusion, and yet it is 
the conclusion to which we are inevitably led by the 
spiritualizing mode of interpretation. 

Nor is this all ; but this spiritualizing system of in- 
terpretation flatly contradicts the plain statement of 
the Spirit of God in the prediction. It denies that a 
child has been, or can be born ; that a Son has been, 
or can be given ; that, of the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace, there shall be no end ; that there has 
been, or ever can be, one to whom all these divine ti- 
tles can be justly and righteously applied ; and that 
there ever shall be such a Kingdom as He is said to 



DAVID AND MESSIAH S THRONE. 



25 



establish and govern. This is no vague, rash assertion, 
no illegitimate conclusion, but on the contrary the only- 
conclusion to which the spiritualizing interpretation 
conducts. And if this be so, is the spiritual interpreta- 
tion to be regarded as sound, and to be implicitly 
received ? Are we to believe after all this that Christ 
is to have no literal, no personal reign on earth ; but 
that He is only to reign in the hearts of His people ? 

But it is also taught in Scripture, that the saints are 
to sit with Christ upon his throne, and reign with Him 
in His Kingdom. This is the privilege of all them, 
who overcome, or are victorious over their foes. Now 
if the spiritual interpretation be correct, namely, that 
by sitting upon the throne of His father David, is 
meant, that He shall sit upon the throne of the heart 
of His people, then all the victorious multitude who, 
by his blood and abounding grace, have overcome their 
enemies, shall sit with Him upon that same throne ; 
that is to say, multitudes of saints shall sit upon the 
throne of the heart of saints, upon the throne of 
their own hearts ! and these same multitudes shall 
reign with Him in the hearts of His believing people. 
Strange doctrine ! Saints sitting upon the throne of 
the heart of saints, upon the throne of their own 
hearts ! Saints reigning in the heart of saints ! It 
is difficult to understand and believe this. Nay, its 
palpable absurdity is sufficient to secure its rejection. 
If we admit the literal interpretation the difficulties 
in a great measure vanish. "We can in some measure 

2 



26 



david and Messiah's throne. 



see and understand how the saints can be co-enthroned, 
and co-regnant with Christ — how they are to partici- 
pate in the government of His Kingdom. 

The language of Gabriel to Mary is not metaphori- 
cal, but literal; and if something more were not meant 
than the spiritual reign which Jesus Christ has ever 
exercised by His Spirit in the hearts of His people, why 
make mention of the throne of Da^id ? The very men- 
tion of that throne leads us back to something literal 
and intimates, that when what is here spoken of is ful- 
filled, it will be literally fulfilled. And for what other 
reason did Peter make mention of God " having sworn 
with an oath to David, that of the fruit of his loins, 
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit 
upon His throne ?" If a purely spiritual reign were 
meant, that could have been declared, and set forth in 
all its importance to the world, without any reference 
to the throne of David. But the fruit of David's loins 
according to the flesh, that is the human nature of 
Christ, God bound himself by an oath to raise up to 
sit on David's throne. Now, if by David s throne is to 
be understood the human heart, it may well be asked, 
how is God to fulfil this engagement made by solemn 
oath ? How is the raised up humanity of Jesus Christ 
to sit in the hearts of men ? If it is replied spiritually, 
the difficulty is not removed ; the question still occurs, 
how will the humanity of Jesus, for it was his humani- 
ty that was raised up for that purpose, sit spiritually 
in the hearts of his people ? If it be the throne of the 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



27 



heart that is meant by David's throne, then beyond all 
controversy the humanity of Jesus must sit upon the 
throne of the heart, else God's oath must be worthless, 
and his raising the humanity of Jesus a vain act. But, 
for the humanity of Jesus to sit upon the throne of the 
heart, or in the hearts of His people, seems a physical 
impossibility, and the attempt to spiritualize this sitting 
or make it metaphorical seems absurd. And while 
this spiritual sitting and spiritual reigning, so eagerly 
contended for, are encumbered with so many and great 
difficulties, let it be remarked, neither is it clearly 
taught, nor even obscurely hinted at by Gabriel in the 
passage, nor is it plainly and indubitably taught any- 
where in Scripture, but seems altogether a gratuitous 
assumption of man — a forced meaning which the pas- 
sage does not bear ; for it is not shown, either by rea- 
son or Scripture, but asserted, that Christ's Kingdom 
is a spiritual Kingdom, and that He shall reign spirit- 
ually over the house of Jacob. 

Such an interpretation as a spiritual, or figurative, 
or metaphorical, to say the least of it, is very question- 
able ; and what is more, it is neither clearly taught in 
Scripture, nor evidently implied ; nor does it appear 
to be in accordance with the analogy of prophecy. It 
seems to be sustained principally, if not entirely, by the 
dogmatizing of men, who assume the authority of say- 
ing this portion of God's word is to be understood lite- 
rally, and this portion spiritually, as if the whole mat- 
ter were to be decided by their judgment and authori- 



28 david and Messiah's throne. 

ty, or rather, by their previous tuition, and consequent 
prejudices or caprice. If, the plain grammatical lan- 
guage of Scripture declare some of God's future pur- 
poses, surely it is not for any man to say that what the 
words express is not their meaning, but that they mean 
something they do not express, something not literal, but 
spiritual, when, if such had been the meaning of the Spi- 
rit of God, he could easily have stated it. Others again 
determined, that the language of Scripture shall speak, 
and give utterance to their sentiments, put it to the rack 
and torture of criticism, and by subjecting it to this 
ordeal, endeavour to convert it into a witness for them- 
selves, and make it give loud and strong expressions, 
as they suppose, of their views ; and accordingly, the lite- 
ral meaning, in violation of all laws of criticism, is re- 
jected by them. While others, with fewer prejudices, 
and perhaps more candour and less presumption, are 
disposed to hear what the Lord God will speak, and 
learn with the docility of little children the meaning 
of God's holy word. They take language in its literal 
acceptation ; believe what the words express, to be 
what the Spirit of God means ; contend for the literal 
fulfilment of prophecy — the literal fulfilment of Gabriel's 
prophecy, namely, " that the Lord God shall give 
unto the Son of the Highest the throne of his father 
David." 

We have seen that the spiritual interpretation of 
this passage is very doubtful ; that clear and decided 
evidence to sustain it is wanting ; and what is more, 



dayid and Messiah's throne. 



29 



that the obvious meaning of the language employed, 
and the analogy of prophecy, are against it. It now 
devolves upon us to inquire if the literal interpretation 
is better sustained. And in order to do this, in a 
matter of such vast importance, the clear understand- 
ing of God's future plans as regards the destiny of the 
earth, the exaltation of the Jewish nation, and the 
kingly rule of Messiah over the whole earth, we must 
reject the dogmatizing teaching, the torturing criti- 
cisms, the ingenious explanations of men, who, like 
Whitby, have a new hypothesis which they are deter- 
mined to support by every aid which they can summon 
to their assistance ; and have respect only to the plain 
grammatical meaning of language, the clear teachings 
of the word of God, and the manner in which prophe- 
cy has been hitherto fulfilled. With these heavenly 
lights of the Spirit's own kindling for our guide, and a 
mind dispossessed of all prejudice, we may, by the as- 
sistance of the Holy Spirit, who is able to open the 
eyes of our understanding, arrive at the true meaning 
of the passage under consideration, and those of a kin- 
dred spirit. 

The angel Gabriel, in his enrapturing salutation to 
Mary, declared, that she, though a virgin, should con- 
ceive and bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus. 
What is here predicted is so completely at variance 
with all the common and established laws of nature ; 
so directly in opposition to them all, involving a 
physical and natural impossibility, that surely, if we 



30 



dayid and Messiah's throne. 



would have demurred to the literal fulfilment of any 
prediction, it would have been to the literal fulfilment 
of this : and we might have asked in unanswerable un- 
belief, supported by the uniform laws of nature since 
the creation of man — Will this prediction be literally 
fulfilled? and the very difficulties of the case — the 
violation of all the laws of nature, would call for 
ingenuity to explain the difficulty, and furnish some 
ground for a figurative interpretation. But all such 
difficulties are removed : all such interpretation is for 
ever set aside ; for the prediction has been fulfilled, 
and strange as it may seem, it has been literally fulfilled. 
Isaiah sang by inspiration seven hundred and forty 
years before the event, "Behold a Virgin shall conceive 
and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 
This prediction was literally fulfilled at the birth of 
Christ, in the stable in Bethlehem ; for when that took 
place, an angel appeared to the shepherds announcing 
the fulfilment of that prophecy, in these words : u Unto 
you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
who is Christ the Lord." In this they announced a 
literal birth — the literal birth of a literal manchild ; 
for the Holy thing born of the Virgin was as really 
and truly a material child as any of woman born. 
Gabriel foretold also, that his name should be called 
Jesus ; and when circumcised the eighth day according 
to the law of Moses, that was the name given to him. 
Here then, we have the clear and indubitable evidence, 
that a part of Gabriel's prediction — and so far as we 



DAVID AXD MESSIAH S THRONE. 



31 



can judge, the most difficult part — lias been literally 
fulfilled. Nor is this denied, but admitted, by those 
who contend for the Spiritual interpretation of the 
other parts of the prophecy. Xow we contend, as we 
think, upon all fair rules of interpretation, that unless 
we have distinct intimation from the angel, that the 
subsequent part shall not be literally fulfilled, but ful- 
filled in a different manner — which intimation we have 
not, nor anything approaching thereto — then we are 
shut up to the conclusion, that the remaining, like the 
preceding, shall be literally fulfilled ; that the throne 
of his father David — the throne which David occupied 
in Jerusalem, shall be literally given to the Son of the 
Highest — given to Jesus Christ, and that his humanity 
descended from David shall sit upon that literal throne. 

And still further, in confirmation of this interpreta- 
tion, let it be remarked, that all the predictions which 
have been hitherto fulfilled concerning Jesus Christ, 
to say nothing of other predictions, have been literally 
fulfilled. And by way of corroborating and illustrat- 
ing this very important truth, clearly exhibited to view 
in the providence of God, we may adduce a few in- 
stances. Was it predicted by prophets and the angel 
Gabriel, that Jesus should be born of a Virgin ? The 
prediction according to divine testimony was literally 
fulfilled ; wonderful as that literal fulfilment may be, 
and at variance as it is, with all the laws of nature, and 
all the births which have hitherto taken place upon the 
earth. Did Micah sing prophetically, giving utterance 



82 



david and Messiah's thkone. 



to the words of the Holy Ghost, " But thou, Bethlehem 
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands 
of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, 
that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have 
been of old, from everlasting 1" So far as this prophecy 
has been fulfilled, it will not be denied that it has been 
literally fulfilled ; for Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 
the very place designated by the prophet, and we can- 
not entertain a reasonable doubt, that the remaining 
part shall in like manner be literally fulfilled, when the 
time for its fulfilment arrives — that Jesus shall as 
literally rule in Israel ; and be a literal King sitting 
upon David's literal throne, ruling that people gather- 
ed from the east and from the west, from the north and 
from the south, and brought into their own land, as, that, 
he came out of Bethlehem. Was it predicted in the 
prophets and in the psalms, that he should be a man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief, a prophetic utter- 
ance, surely, far more difficult to be believed, than that 
he should sit in person a King upon David's rebuilt 
throne ? This was literally and awfully fulfilled ; for 
sufferings of every kind and intensity that could pos- 
sibly afflict sinless humanity, were his portion from the 
manger to the cross, as every person knows, who has 
carefully perused his brief history, as recorded by the 
Evangelists. Was it predicted that he should " ride in 
triumph into Jerusalem upon an ass, and upon a colt, 
the foal of an ass ?" It was literally fulfilled ; for he 
sent his disciples to bring the colt whereon never man 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 33 

rode, and upon that he entered Jerusalem amidst the 
Hosannahs of the multitude. Was it predicted that 
his price should be thirty pieces of silver ? The pre- 
diction was literally fulfilled ; for the chief priests, who 
were thirsting for his innocent blood and determined 
upon his death, paid Judas the traitor, thirty pieces of 
silver to betray him into their hands. Was it prophet- 
ically said by the Son of God, many hundred years 
before his incarnation. ' ; I hid" not my face from shame 
and spitting?" It was literally fulfilled, for the evan- 
gelists tell us. they spat upon him in the judgment hall. 
Was it predicted that the ploughers should plough up- 
on his back, and make long their furrows with the 
knotty scourge ? It was literally fulfilled ; for the 
Roman soldiers scourged him until his back was lace- 
rated in the most dreadful manner. Was it predicted, 
" He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his 
mouth?''' It was literally fulfilled, for when he was 
accused of the chief priests and elders, ''he answered 
nothing. " Was it predicted that he should die, and in 
his death be numbered with transgressors ? It was 
literally fulfilled, for he was crucified between two 
thieves. Was it predicted that he should be with the 
rich in his death ? It was literally fulfilled ; for hav- 
ing no grave of his own, he was buried in the tomb of 
Joseph, a rich man of Arimathea. Was it predicted 
that he should not be "left in the grave, neither see 
corruption ?" It was literally fulfilled ; for he rose 
again " the third day according to the Scriptures, and 

2* 



DAYID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



did not see corruption." All these predictions and 
multitudes more concerning Christ, to which we can- 
not specifically advert at present, have had their literal 
fulfilment. And surely the literal fulfilment of many 
of these, seemingly, involves far more and greater diffi- 
culties, than Christ's sitting and reigning upon his fa- 
ther David's throne. 

And is it predicted, that his father David's throne 
shall be given to him, and that he shall yet sit upon 
that throne raised in beauty and magnificence out of 
its present ruins ? It is, and in language clear and dis- 
tinct — clear and distinct as that of the prophecies 
which we have just seen have all been literally fulfilled : 
and how then is this prediction to be understood and 
fulfilled ? From the uniform literal fulfilment of pro- 
phecy, we are shut up to the conclusion, that this, too, 
whatever may be the seeming difficulties which stand in 
the way, unless there is a departure from the uniform 
procedure of God in the fulfilment of this prediction, 
will be literally fulfilled : and that Jesus Christ, the 
literal seed of David, the God-man, shall yet sit upon 
David's literal throne. This literal fulfilment, as we 
have already seen, is clearly set forth, and strongly ar- 
gued by Peter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 
when he contends before the men of Israel, that the 
crucified humanity of Jesus Christ was raised up from 
the dead for this very purpose. For says he to the men 
of Israel, the very men who crucified Him — " David 
your king, being a prophet and knowing that God had 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



35 



sworn with an oath to him, that of th.e fruit of his loins, 
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit 
upon his throne : he seeing this before spake of the re- 
surrection of Christ — of the resurrection of the fruit of 
his loins. As then, David had a literal throne, a throne 
upon which he sat while reigning over Israel ; and as 
Christ of the seed of David, who died upon the cross, 
was literally raised up from the dead — the very body 
that hung and died upon the cross came up out of the 
tomb to sit upon that throne; according to the very first 
law of philology, and all consistent interpretation 
Christ must literally and in person sit upon that throne. 

Nor, can it be urged as an unanswerable objection, 
that the throne of David, so highly honoured by God 
and so distinctly spoken of here, has been utterly over- 
thrown by the fearful visitations of divine vengeance, 
which have swept in desolating fury over that land, 
and Jehovah's privileged people who once dwelt there- 
in — that for many centuries it has been lying in ruins, 
and trodden down by the feet of barbarous tribes, who 
in their homeless wanderings have traversed that con- 
secrated soil — that the national existence of the peo- 
ple over whom he ruled has long ago ceased, and that 
they are now a people scattered among all the nations 
of the earth, with the brand of Heaven upon their 
brow, and Jehovah's wrath-cloud over their heads, and 
Messiah's blood upon their souls, for the guilty rejec- 
tion and crucifixion of the Son of God. Or to use the 
truly descriptive language of Scripture (Hos. iii. 4), 



36 



DAVID AND MESSIAH^ THRONE. 



" That the children of Israel have abode many days 
without a king, and without a prince, and without a 
sacrifice, and without an image, or statue, and without 
an ephod, and without teraphim f for all this, instead of 
being an unanswerable objection, or conclusive proof 
that Jesus shall not sit upon the throne of his father 
David, is the standing and divinely perpetuated mira- 
culous evidence, that this very prediction, unfavourable 
as circumstances, to human view and in human judg- 
ment, may seem, shall be literally fulfilled. These de- 
solations of long duration, which seem to militate with 
such mighty power against the literal exaltation of Je- 
sus to the literal throne, and more than regal kingdom 
of his father David, shall not endure for aye. When 
the times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled, and God, 
in mercy to them, has gathered from among them a 
people to himself ; when they in their turn shall be cut 
off for their unbelief ; and God, in mercy and accord- 
ing to his ancient covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, graffs in the Jews again — What then ? Hear 
the language of prophecy — listen to the voice and so- 
lemn declaration of God himself : " After that I will re- 
turn and build again the tabernacle of David, which is 
fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, 
and I will set it up." Here God declares he will re- 
turn to the long forsaken land of Judea, to the dismal 
desolations of Jerusalem 4 and the tabernacle of David, 
and that he will rebuild that tabernacle, that throne, 
and who will question the adequacy of the omnipotent 



david and Messiah's throne. 



37 



power of God for the work, or his veracity as regards 
the declaration. He is doubtless able to do it, and he 
has said he will do it, and beyond all controversy at 
the appointed time it will be done. Or to quote the 
language of Amos, chap. ix. 11, 14, 15, " In that day, 
will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen 
down, and close up the breaches thereof : and I will 
raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of 
old. And I will bring again the captivity of my peo- 
ple of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and 
inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards and drink 
the wine thereof ; they shall also make gardens and eat 
fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their own 
land, 77 that is the land promised in covenant to Abra- 
ham, and theirs by gift of God. " And they shall no 
more be pulled up out of th^ir land which I have given 
them, saith the Lord thy God." 

The prophecy preceding this just quoted concern- 
ing the utter destruction of the sinful kingdom, but not 
of the house of Jacob, the sifting of the house of Is- 
rael among all nations, their dispersing into every 
country under heaven, and to the furthest verge of 
earth, has been literally and awfully fulfilled ; as the 
state of trembling Israel, dispersed and oppressed in 
every land in the present day, clearly shows. And 
shall not the prophecy, standing as it does closely con- 
nected with this, predicting the gathering of that mise- 
rably long scattered people : their restoration to their 
own land, the land of Canaan, and the enjoyment of 



38 



DAYID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



every privilege under the kingly government of the 
Prince of peace, be also literally fulfilled ? Shall we not 
take the exposition, as presented in the providence of 
God, of the prophecy respecting their dispersion, as the 
key of exposition of the prophecy of their gathering and 
restoration ? While there is every strong and good rea- 
son why we should, surely, there is difficulty in finding 
any reason why we should not. With this key, then, 
of interpretation in our hand, we would ask, shall not 
Jesus literally sit upon the throne of David, raised up 
from its present ruins by God Almighty himself? For 
what purpose is the fallen down throne of David to be 
raised up and erected in more than pristine beauty, 
grandeur, and immoveable stability ? For what purpose 
are the long dispersed tribes of Israel to be gathered 
and brought into their own land — the land given to 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their seed for ever ? but 
that the promises of God to them, and to the Son of 
the Highest, may be fulfilled — but that the rebuilt throne 
of David, and the restored kingdom of Israel, accord- 
ing to the covenant of God with David, may be given 
unto Jesus the Son of the Highest. 

This view, namely the literal, seems supported by 
Dr. Campbell, the learned and celebrated translator of 
the Gospels ; though he did not believe that Christ 
would literally sit upon the throne of his father David. 
In his fifth Dissertation, part 1, §§ 1, 2, 3, upon the 
phrases, "kingdom of God, and kingdom of heaven, " 
he clearly admits, from the language of the prophets, 



DAVID AXD MESSIAHS THRONE. 



39 



that Messiah shall have a kingdom; that its locality 
shall be this earth : that the God of heaven shall set it 
up : that having removed all the afflictions of his peo- 
ple, he shall reign over them in mount Zion. ^Ve give the 
following quotation ; In the phrase >i Bmrtteut 
or u^ave*^ there is a manifest allusion to the predic- 
tions in which this economy was revealed by the pro- 
phets in the Old Testament, particularly by the prophet 
Daniel, who mentions it in one place, as a kingdom, 
BtfriAeitf, which the God of heaven would set up. and 
which should never be destroyed ; in another, ch. vii. 
13. 14, as a kingdom to be given, with glory and do- 
minion over all people, nations, and languages, to one 
like a son of man. And the prophet Micah, ch. iv. 6, 
7, speaking of the same era, represents it as a time 
when Jehovah, having removed all the afflictions of his 
people, would reign over them in Mount Zion, thence- 
forth even for ever. To the same purpose, though not 
so explicit, are the declarations of other prophets. To 
these predictions there is a manifest reference in the 
title, i Bturtteue r& the kingdom of God, or simply 
j BxTtXstx. the kingdom given in the Xew Testament, to 
the religious constitution which would obtain under the 
Messiah. It occurs very often, and is, if I mistake 
not, uniformly, in the common translation, rendered 
kingdom" 

2. That the import of the term is always either 
kingdom, or something nearly related to kingdom, is 
beyond all question ; but it is no less so that, if regard 



40 



david and Messiah's throne. 



be had to the propriety of our own idiom, and con- 
sequently to the perspicuity of our own version, the 
English word will not answer on every occasion. In 
most cases farixeioi answers to the Latin regnum. But 
this word is of more extensive meaning than the Eng- 
lish, being equally adapted to express both our terms 
reign and kingdom. The first relates to the time or 
duration of the sovereignty ; the second, to the place 
or country over which it extends. Now, though it is 
manifest in the gospels that it is much oftener the time 
than the place that is alluded to, it is never in the 
common version translated reign, but always kingdom. 
Yet the expression is often thereby rendered exceed- 
ingly awkward, not to say absurd. Use indeed softens 
every thing. Hence it is that, in reading our Bible, 
we are insensible of those improprieties which, in any 
other book, would strike us at first hearing. Such are 
those expressions which apply motion to a kingdom, 
as when mention is made of its coming, approaching, 
and the like ; but I should not think it worth while to 
contend for the observance of a scrupulous propriety, 
if the violation of it did not affect the sense, and lead 
the reader into mistakes. Now this is, in several 
instances, the certain consequence of improperly ren- 
dering fiariXu*, kingdom" 

" § 3. When purixsta means reign, and is followed by 
t»v »£*v«v, the translation, kingdom of heaven, evidently 
tends to mislead the reader. Heaven, thus construed 
with kingdom, ought, in our language, by the rules of 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



41 



grammatical propriety, to denote the region under the 
kingly government spoken of. But finding, as we 
advance, that this called the kingdom of heaven is actu- 
ally upon the earth, or, as it were, travelling to the 
earth, and almost arrived, there necessarily arises such 
a confusion of ideas as clouds the text, and by conse- 
quence weakens the impression it would otherwise 
make upon our minds." 

Here it is admitted, by Dr. Campbell, in his criti- 
cism upon these words, that they do refer to a literal 
kingdom, and a literal government upon earth, and the 
Lord of Hosts reigning literally in Jerusalem, and 
sitting literally upon the throne of his father David 
rebuilt there. The previous monarchies — namely, the 
Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, the Roman 
— spoken of in the second chapter of Daniel, were all 
literal monarchies. They had their literal existence 
upon earth, as their prophetic history foretold, and the 
providence of God has subsequently made manifest. 
In their day they had their literal ruler, or king, who 
occupied the throne ; their literal government, or 
officers and legislation, by which their affairs were 
managed ; their literal kingdom, or locality of reign, 
which, in each, was a clearly defined territory. All 
these were upon the earth, in visible form, and had 
their literal existence here. If then, four of the 
' monarchies were literal, as is well known from history 
they were, and also from the still existing remains of 
the fourth, under the emblem of the ten toes, what can 



42 DAYID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



the presumption, or inference be, but that the fifth shall 
be of the same nature ? If there is no change in the 
language, or style of prediction to warrant, by obvious 
meaning, or indubitable language, the expectation that 
tl^ere will be a change in the fulfilment of that portion 
of the prophecy yet to be fulfilled, it may, upon correct 
rules of interpretation, be expected, nay, confidently 
believed ; and the whole dispensations of divine pro- 
vidence, proving the literal meaning of prophecy to be 
the true meaning, is God Almighty's own evidence, 
and proof of the soundness of this belief; that the 
fifth, the glorious monarchy yet to be set up at, and 
exist subsequent to, the destruction of the ten toes, will 
be also a literal monarchy upon the earth, and will 
have the king occupying the throne. But every reader 
knows there is no change of language clearly teaching, 
or even obscurely intimating, that prophecy yet unful- 
filled shall not, like prophecy already fulfilled, have a 
literal fulfilment, but from henceforth, contrary to 
what has been uniform in past ages, it shall be spirit- 
ually fulfilled ; and consequently we are shut up to a 
literal fulfilment, to the conclusion and belief that 
Messiah shall have a literal kingdom upon earth, and 
that he shall sit visibly and gloriously at the head of 
that monarchy upon the rebuilt throne of his father 
David. 

All this seems very clearly taught by Daniel. The 
kingdom to be set up, destined to endure for ever, 
smites and destroys all that remains of the previous 



david" and Messiah's throne. 43 



kingdoms, and takes possession of the very locality, as 
well as of the whole earth, which formed their king- 
dom. This then, must be a kingdom upon earth, a 
literal kingdom, like the preceding, though entirely 
different in its character, having nothing worldly, 
nothing sinful in its nature, nothing savouring of man, 
or the plans and policy of man, but everything from 
God, and of God ; a kingdom whose foundations are 
laid by infinite wisdom, in absolute righteousness. It 
is a kingdom not of this world, nor of the wisdom of 
this world, yet upon this earth ; for it comes down 
from God, having his own pure image impressed upon 
it, and his own holy and equitable legislation as the 
foundation and the rule of its entire government. It 
is divine in its origin, in its principles, in its laws of 
government. And to this literal kingdom, Daniel saw 
a literal king coming in the clouds of heaven to take 
possession thereof. He saw one like the Son of Man 
coming to the earth where he was, and where, also, 
appeared the Ancient of Days : and to him was given 
dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, 
nations, and languages, of course upon the earth, for 
these are nowhere else to be found, should serve him. 
Here then, we have a literal king, the Son of Man, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who hung and died upon the cross, 
with this divinely secured, and most significant inscrip- 
tion over his head, "THE KING OF THE JEWS" 
— a literal government, He reigning in Jerusalem and 
in mount Zion, before, or in the presence of his ancients 



44 



david and Messiah's throne. 



gloriously ; he ruling literal subjects — all people, 
nations, and languages, a literal kingdom of the whole 
earth ; which is the literal fulfilment of Gabriel's pre- 
diction to his mother — he shall sit upon the throne of 
his father David. 

Surely, no reasonable objection can be adduced 
against the literal interpretation ; and surely, no 
attempt ought to be made to adduce any, if such seem 
to be the revealed will and purpose of God. The 
creature has no right to say, that God means something 
else than the words used by the Spirit express, and 
that he has a right to say what that meaning is, and 
make out that to be something very different from that 
evidently conveyed by the language employed. Yet 
this right is assumed and boldly contended for ; and in 
the exercise of it, many objections are brought against 
the literal fulfilment of prophecy foretelling Christ's 
personal and glorious reign upon the earth, after it has 
undergone important changes, making it fit for his 
residence. But let these objections be fairly and can- 
didly examined in the light of Scripture, and the 
luminous exhibitions of divine providence, and in the 
absence of all prejudices and pre-embraced theories, 
and it is presumed that they will appear without much 
force, if not entirely groundless. 

But if, objections are made to the literal interpreta- 
tion, ail these, after all, may not be a sufficient reason 
why it should be rejected. They may be groundless 
objections, and therefore without force ; or they may 



david and Messiah's throne. 



45 



be objections originating in our incapacity, fully to 
understand the subject in all its mysteries and details. 
And if we reject this view of Scripture, because there 
are some things which we cannot fully understand, we 
must also, to be consistent, reject many other state- 
ments and revelations which they make, and, among 
these, the spiritual or figurative interpretations. Objec- 
tions, strong objections, can be brought against it ; 
objections more numerous and powerful than can be 
brought against the literal interpretation. Indeed, 
there seems, every objection against it, inasmuch as it 
appears contrary to the whole analogy of Scripture, as 
well as to all the clear teachings of the Spirit of God. 
And were the soundness of the two views to be decided 
by the smallest number, and the least weighty objec- 
tions which could be brought against each, then, 
beyond all controversy, the spiritual would be rejected 
as unsound, and the literal retained as orthodox. 

If then, our interpretation of Scripture, respecting 
David and Messiah's throne, has been sound and cor- 
rect, and our reasoning upon that interpretation 
legitimate, we are shut up to the conclusion, which is 
the doctrine clearly taught in the Scriptures, that 
David's throne, which has so long lain in ruins and 
been trampled under the feet of many centuries and 
the barbarous wanderers of the desert, and for which 
the eyes of the chosen race, the royal priesthood, have 
so long looked in vain, shall yet arise from its ruins, 
in glory far surpassing its former. The Lord himself 



46 



david and Messiah's throne. 



shall be the builder, and he will make it a throne 
worthy of divine majesty and glory. It will be the 
throne of the whole earth. And the God-man, Christ 
Jesus, who died upon the cross, who slumbered in 
Joseph's tomb, but who is now enthroned on his 
father's right hand in the heavens, will come down, 
accompanied by all the thrones, dominions, principali- 
ties, and powers, and all the spirits of just men made 
perfect in paradise ; and having raised their bodies 
from the grave, and greatly purged this earth of sin, 
and the effects of sin, he shall sit down in glory upon 
that resplendent and glorious throne, a redeemed crea- 
tion rejoicing around him. That throne, rebuilt in 
matchless glory for the occupancy of the raised up 
seed of David according to the flesh, becomes, with its 
king, the centre and glorious attraction of the universe. 
From it, glory radiates forth unto all lands and all 
worlds. Around it, creation's holy ones assemble ; 
before it, they bow and worship ; and around it, their 
ever-swelling floods of praise perpetually roll, to the 
glory and honour of him who sits thereon, the King of 
Kings and the Lord of Lords: "the Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne of his Father David." 

" See Salem built, the labour of a God ! 
Bright as the sun the sacred city shines ; 
All kingdoms and all princes of the earth 
Flock to that light ; the glory of all lands 
Flows into her ; unbounded is her joy, 
And endless her increase." 



david and Messiah's throne. 



47 



Reader, will not that be a glorious throne, a throne 
pre-eminent in glory ? And will not they be a blessed 
people who will dwell in that glory, and stand in the 
presence of Him from whom it all emanates? Ah, 
blessed they must be, supremely blessed, and they 
only ! It is here, and here alone, where perfect glory 
and blessedness are to be enjoyed. And the momentous 
inquiry I would press upon your heart is this, simply 
this : When that throne is rebuilt, and the Lord the 
King sits thereon, and the glorious, beatified hosts 
gather around it, will you have a place among this 
blessed number ; will your voice be mingling with 
theirs in the ceaseless rapturous melody, the undying 
hallelujahs ever ascending ; will you be standing with 
them before that throve, and casting your glorious 
crown in the presence of IMMANUEL, the I AM who 
occupies the seat of universal dominion ; and will 
your eye with theirs be ever turned to him as your 
elder brother, to drink in from his abiding presence 
fulness of joy for evermore ? Reader, pause ; answer 
this question, for it is a question of utmost moment ; it 
is the question of questions. Withdraw from the 
world, withdraw from business, from all the concerns 
of this life ; suspend everything, till this great ques- 
tion is answered ; for all compared with this is less 
than the small dust of the balance, is nothing. If you 
value riches, the possession and everlasting inheritance 
of the riches of righteousness depend upon the right 
solution of this question—the possession " of the inhe- 



48 



DAVID AND MESSIAH'S THRONE. 



ritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away." the everlasting kingdom of God. Oh, upon the 
right solution of this question depends your everlasting 
life and happiness in the presence of the throne and its 
occupant ! Your interest for eternity, vast in magni- 
tude beyond all computation ; your happiness for eter- 
nity ; oh, your eternal life, and blessedness, and glory, 
depend upon the right solution of this question, upon 
your standing before that throne when rebuilt ! Reader, 
will you then be among the number who shall stand in 
glory around that throne ? Shall I meet you there ? 
Shall God's redeemed people meet you there ? Shall 
Christ see you there ? And shall you for ever feel the 
blessedness of being there? The LORD the KING 
waits your answer. 



Messiah's kingdom. 



49 



CHAPTER II. 
Messiah's kingdom. 

" He shall reign over the house of Jacob." — Luke i. 33. 

We have seen that David had a literal throne, in his 
palace on mount Zion, in Jerusalem ; and that he sat 
literally upon that throne, and reigned literally over 
the Jewish nation and people. He never had any 
other throne, nor any other kingdom, nor exercised 
any other government. This throne, then, was the 
throne promised to the Messiah, who was to be of 
David's seed. And though this throne of David has 
long ago tumbled into ruins, amidst the changes and 
convulsions of earth, the overturning of this world's 
kingdoms, yet the sure word of prophecy reveals and 
declares that it shall, at a set time, at an appointed 
season, be rebuilt, for the occupancy of the resurrec- 
tion humanity — of the man- God, Christ Jesus. Pro- 
phecy does not speak of a throne which has had no 
previous existence, to be occupied by the raised up 
seed of David, namely, Jesus Christ, but only of the 

3 



50 



Messiah's kingdom. 



throne of David. If then it is admitted that Christ is 
to occupy a throne, according to the sure word of pro- 
phecy, it must be the literal throne of his father David, 
It will not do merely to affirm that the human heart is 
the throne here meant, and that Christ is to sit and 
reign spiritually there, until it is proved that David's 
throne in Jerusalem was the human heart ; and that 
his reign was also a spiritual reign ; and until it is 
shown how David, a literal man, could sit in the 
heart of men ; and that he could sit in the heart of 
each individual of the entire Jewish nation at one and 
the same time. "When that is done then, by the help 
of this wonderful new light poured upon us, we may 
be enabled to see or understand, in some measure, 
though of this we have doubts, how the raised up seed, 
the true humanity of Jesus Christ, may enter the 
bosom and sit in the heart of his people ; how he may, 
in human nature, be in every heart of the vast multi- 
tude of his subjects, the number of whom shall be as 
the stars of the sky, as the dewdrops of the morning j 
and how the whole multitude of the risen saints, who 
are to sit with him upon his throne, shall, in their 
resurrection bodies, sit with him in every human heart 
in which he is to sit and reign when he occupies the 
throne of his father David. 

j As this, however, has not been done, and, as we 
presume, cannot be, we are constrained to hold the 
literal view presented in the word of God, and sus- 
tained by his providential fulfilment of prophecy, that 



Messiah's kingdom. 



51 



Christ shall sit in all his divine and kingly glory upon 
the rebuilt throne of his father David. And if he is 
to sit personally and literally upon that throne, so also 
is he to reign literally and visibly. Not only will he 
reign in the hearts of men, but he will reign visibly, 
as any other king reigns. This is the conclusion to 
which we were led by the grammatical meaning of 
prophecy, and by God's own interpretation, as given 
in his providence, in the literal fulfilment of prophecy, 
which hitherto has had its accomplishment. 

If Christ is to occupy a literal throne, and be a 
literal king, and we think this is most clearly and cer- 
tainly taught in Scripture, then he will and must have 
a literal kingdom, a literal territory, and people over 
which he must reign ; and this is also clearly taught 
by the angel Gabriel, in his prophecy and promise to 
his virgin mother. Nor is this all ; but in that same 
prophecy the kingdom, and the extent of Messiah's 
kingdom, is pointed out in these words : " He shall 
reign over the house of Jacob." And we propose now 
to glance for a little at the locality and extent of this 
kingdom. 

It is predicted and affirmed by the angel Gabriel, 
that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Highest, who is to sit 
literally upon the rebuilt throne of his father David, 
shall reign over the house of Jacob. In order that we 
may form something like an accurate idea of the 
locality and extent of the kingdom described by the 
house of Jacob) we must take into consideration God's 



52 



Messiah's kingdom. 



ancient promise and covenant with the patriarchs ; 
the full extent of its meaning, and the subsequent 
descriptive predictions of the prophets, pointing out 
the far extending boundaries of that kingdom. We 
must look at it as it is set forth in Scripture from the 
first time it is mentioned to the last, and thus endea- 
vour to see it in all its amplitude. And here, too, we 
must guard against the darkening influences of pre- 
possessions and prejudices, and endeavour to see it in 
the clear unclouded light of revelation. 

Jacob was the younger son of Isaac, and the grand- 
son of Abraham. Now God gave by covenant to 
Abraham and his seed the whole land of Canaan, for 
an everlasting possession. The deed of gift, or cove- 
nant, is as follows : " The Lord said unto Abram, after 
that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine 
eyes, and look from the place where thou art, north- 
ward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, for 
all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and 
to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the 
dust of the earth ; so that if a man can number the 
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be num- 
bered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of 
it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto 
thee (Gen. xiii. 14-17). The land in which Abram 
was at this time, and which is here spoken of, was the 
land of Canaan. And while Abram, at the command 
of Jehovah, looked upon that land which lay before 
and around him, he did certainly believe that it was of 



Messiah's kingdom. 



53 



that very territory that God spake, and that very 
territory "which he in these words bequeathed to him 
by promise and covenant. How could he think other- 
wise, when God himself was directing his— his 
attention, and his faith to that very land, and in the 
most solemn manner, assuring him that he would giye 
it to him and to his seed? He could never suppose, 
when God was commanding him to look upon that 
land, to walk over that land, tod promising to give to 
him and his seed what he saw with the natural eye and 
trod upon, for an everlasting inheritance, that He all 
the while meant some region, or something undefined 
in heaven — something neither before his eyes nor 
under his feet, nor even upon the earth where he was. 

Abram, pre-eminent for his faith, doubtless under- 
standing and believing the words in their literal 
meaning ; and knowing that he who had uttered the 
promise was fully able to perform it, " Said, Lord 
God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" 
that is, that I shall inherit this land where I now am, 
upon which I now look, and over which thou hast 
commanded me to walk. The Lord who had promised, 
knowing that Abram understood the promise, for if he 
had not He certainly would have corrected his mistake 
upon a subject of such vast moment, instantly conde- 
scended to give him a sign. He commanded him " to 
take a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a young 
pigeon ; and he took and divided them in the midst, 
and laid each piece over against the other ; but the 



54 



Messiah's kingdom. 



birds he divided not." This being done, it only 
remained for Abram to guard the carcasses from the 
fowls of heaven, until the time for the manifestation of 
the sign. " And it came to pass, that when the sun 
went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking fur- 
nace and a burning lamp that passed between those 
pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant 
with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, 
from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river 
Euphrates" (Gen. xv.). Here then is the sign given 
by God, whereby Abram might know that he shall 
inherit the land, and the extent of the land partially 
defined. 

Nor was this all, strong and conclusive and satis- 
factory as it may seem, that Abram and his seed should 
inherit that land ; but when Abram was ninety and 
nine years old, and one year previous to the birth of the 
promised child, Isaac, that covenant, involving so many 
blessings, was renewed; Abram's name changed to Abra- 
ham ; and another sign or token of the everlasting cove- 
nant, as it is called, was given, the token of circum- 
cision. For thus saith the Lord, " This is my cove- 
nant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy 
seed after thee : Every man child among you shall be 
circumcised ; and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your 
foreskin ; and it shall be a token of the covenant 
between me and you. He that is born in thy house, 
and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be 
circumcised ; and my covenant shall be in your Jlesh 



Messiah's kingdom. 



55 



for an eaerlasting covenant J 7 This token or sign of the 
fulfilment of the everlasting covenant which God made 
with Abraham has been from that day, and still is in 
the flesh of every Jew, and will remain in their flesh 
as visible evidence of God's faithfulness, until the cove- 
nant of which it is the divine token or sign shall be 
fulfilled, according to the word of the Lord ; until 
Abraham, on whom it was first performed, and all his 
seed with him, inherit the land of Canaan. And that 
is as sure a token to them, given by God himself, that 
they shall inherit that land ; the very territory upon 
which Abraham, at the command of the Lord, looked ; 
the land from the river of Egypt unto the great river, 
the river Euphrates, as the magnificent bow in the 
cloud is to us the divine token and testimony that the 
waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all 
flesh that is upon the face of the earth. The token of 
the one covenant as certainly secures its fulfilment as 
does the token of the other ; and whatever may be the 
seeming difficulties in the way of its fulfilment, it 
ought to be remembered these are all nothing when 
the faithfulness and omnipotence of God are pledged 
to perform the work. Abraham and his descendants 
are to have the land, and doubtless, according to the 
fidelity of a covenant-keeping God, they shall have 
the land. 

After Abraham had served his day and generation, 
and gone the way of all the earth, without obtaining 
the divinely-promised and covenanted land, or possess- 



56 



Messiah's kingdom. 



ing as his own as much as whereon to set his foot, 
God appeared unto Isaac, and renewed the precious 
everlasting covenant made with his father to him. The 
covenant-making God to Abraham now becomes the 
covenant-making God to Isaac. The Lord appeared 
unto Isaac, and said, " Go not down into Egypt ; dwell 
in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this 
land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee, for 
unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these 
countries ; and I will perform the oath which I sware 
unto thy father Abraham ; and I will make thy seed 
to jnultiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto 
thy seed all these countries ; and in thy seed shall all 
nations of the earth be blessed " (Gen. xxvi. 2-4). 
The covenant here made with Isaac is evidently the 
very same as that made with his father Abraham ; and 
it must appear manifest to every reader that the thing 
covenanted is one and the same, the land of Canaan. 
And in this covenant too the Lord assures Isaac, that 
though his father Abraham was dead yet he would per- 
form the oath which he had sworn, or fulfil the cove- 
nant which he had made with him ; thereby distinctly 
intimating that death could not break this covenant, 
nor the grave cut Abraham off from possessing the 
land of Canaan ; for though he had died, and gone 
down to the depths of the grave, yet God, true to his 
covenant and his oath, would restore him to life, and 
bring him up out of the grave, and give him that land. 
And this assurance concerning his deceased father 



Messiah's kingdom. 



57 



Abraham, was also the assurance to him, that though 
he should die before possessing that land, yet he would 
by God be raised up out of the grave, to inherit it 
with his father and his seed for ever. It was to be 
theirs by an everlasting covenant for an everlasting 
possession, and if they had possessed it only during 
their natural life, the terms of the covenant would in 
no respect have been fulfilled. In order to the com- 
plete fulfilment of these it is necessary, as we shall 
hereafter see, that Abraham, with his deceased de- 
scendants, should be brought up out of the grave to 
inherit that land. 

God Almighty renewed this covenant upon a more 
extensive scale to Jacob. When he was fleeing from 
that very land, in obedience to his mother's fears, lest 
his enraged brother should slay him, because he had 
obtained his father's blessing which belonged to Esau 
by birthright ; and, in obedience to his father's com- 
mands, that he should not take a wife of the daughters 
of Canaan, Isaac poured out his blessing upon his son, 
strongly expressive of his faith in what the Lord God 
had spoken : " God Almighty bless thee, and give thee 
the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with 
thee, that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou 
art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham " (Gen. 
xxviii. 4). The language here used by Isaac would 
seem almost to 'imply that Abraham did actually pos- 
sess the land, whereas it was his only by promise and 
covenant, and not as yet his by possession, But so 

3* 



58 



Messiah's kingdom. 



strong was his faith in the faithfulness of God, that he 
speaks of the thing yet to be done as if it were already 
done. 

Before Jacob had travelled beyond the land of 
Canaan, the land of covenant ; before the sun had 
arisen invoking him with cheering beams to prosecute 
his second day's journey to a land of safety, much more 
than a paternal blessing had been vouchsafed to him ; 
he had received more to comfort his heart and sustain 
his soul than his earthly father, great and pious as he 
might be, had to bestow, even upon a favourite son. 
The God of Abraham and Isaac appeared to him, 
giving him ample assurance that he was also his God. 
For while the stones which he gathered after the sun 
had gone down were his pillow, the earth his bed, and 
the far spreading star-spangled sky his curtain, he, 
from whom the twelve tribes of Israel were appointed 
to spring, received, upon his solitary angel-guarded 
couch, the promise that all that land, the land wherein 
he lay, which was the land of Canaan, should be 
theirs. For thus said the Lord, from the top of the 
ladder where he stood, " I am the Lord God of Abra- 
ham, thy father ; and the God of Isaac ; the land 
wherein thou liest to thee will I give it, and to thy 
seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, 
and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the 
east, and to the north, and to the south ; and in thee, 
and in thy seed, shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed" (Gen. xxviii, 13, 14). 



Messiah's kingdom. 



59 



Jacob, or Israel, as lie was afterwards called, most 
firmly believed all this, though the promise had not 
been fulfilled either to his father or grandfather, 
though neither of them had possessed or inherited the 
land. He believed it all because he had it from the 
lips of Jehovah, who cannot lie, and who will not 
deceive ; and hence he charged his sons, and even 
made his beloved Joseph swear, that he would not 
bury him in the land of Egypt, the land of the heathen, 
believing that he had to die before he could inherit 
the land of promise; but carry him into the land of 
Canaan, to the burying-place of his fathers, in the land 
given to them and him, and to his children, by God, in 
an everlasting covenant. And Joseph also took an 
oath from the children of Israel, binding them to do 
the same thing for him, to carry him into Canaan and 
bury him there. And the reason of all this was, 
because he and all that people believed the word and 
covenant of God making that land theirs ; and be- 
cause they believed, according to these, the time would 
come when it would be theirs by actual and everlast- 
ing possession, when they would inherit it as God's 
free and peculiar gift to them. 

This promise and covenant of the faithful God have 
not yet been fulfilled, but are waiting the advent of 
" the times which the Father hath put in his own 
power " for their literal fulfilment. They were not 
fulfilled at the return of Israel from their long oppres- 
sive Egyptian bondage, for the patriarchs with whom 



60 



Messiah's kingdom. 



they were made, and their offspring who died in that 
land of servitude, and during their punitive journey- 
ings in the wilderness, were not with those privileged 
individuals whom Joshua led over Jordan's divided 
stream ; nor did they with them take possession of the 
land. When they crossed Jordan, and joyfully entered 
Canaan, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were slumbering 
in the grave, " prisoners of hope," waiting for God to 
call and they will answer him — arise and take posses- 
sion of the land. Nor is this all, but the people who 
by miracle after miracle were led into that land did 
not, according to the tenor of promise and covenant, 
take possession of it ; nor have they inherited it for 
ever ; nor is it in the possession of their descendants 
in the present day, though they are to possess it for 
ever ; and consequently this covenant and promise 
have not yet been fulfilled to these men, highly favoured 
and greatly beloved of God ; yet no doubt can be 
entertained of their fulfilment to the very letter, for 
the God who made them is faithful to all his engage- 
ments. And that God will fulfil his covenant to these 
men and their seed, Stephen argued clearly and con- 
clusively, in the seventh chapter of the Acts of the 
Apostles. " For," says he, " then came he (Abraham) 
out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; 
and from thence, when his father was dead, he 
removed him into the land wherein ye now dwell. 
And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so 
much as to set his foot on ; yet he promised that he 



Messiah's kingdom. 



61 



would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after 
him, when as yet he had no child.' 7 That land Abra- 
ham as yet never had for an inheritance, but according 
to this it shall be his ; and the fact of his descendants 
possessing it temporarily at the time when Stephen 
uttered these words was another divine evidence of 
the fulfilment of this covenant. 

That the covenant and promise were made with 
Abraham, that he and his posterity should possess, and 
for ever inherit the land of Canaan, cannot 'be denied. 
It is equally true that they have not as yet inherited 
the land according to covenant and promise ; but as 
God who has promised to give them this land is a God 
of truth, who will certainly fulfil all his promises, it 
follows, as a matter equally certain, that they shall 
possess and inherit the land. This they must, this 
they shall do, unless God proves faithless to his solemn 
engagements. But this is an alternative too repug- 
nant to be entertained for a single moment. As no 
good reason exists or can exist, as no insurmountable 
obstacle stands in the way or can stand in the way, 
why God should not fulfil this covenant with Abraham 
and his seed, the obvious and certain conclusion is, he 
will do it. The preparations have been advancing 
since the day the covenant was made ; they are going 
forward now, and when they have been completed, the 
divinely chosen and appointed heirs will enter upon 
their possession. 
But before this everlasting covenant, so full of great 



62 



Messiah's kingdom. 



and precious blessings, can be fulfilled, before Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, can 
inherit the land, theirs by divine gift and covenant, 
theirs by heavenly deed, it is evident they must be 
raised up out of their graves and restored to life ; and 
those scattered to the four -winds of heaven in the 
retributive justice of God, in answer to the fearful 
invocation of the guilt of the crucifixion of the Son of 
God being upon their heads, when they said, " His 
blood be upon us and our children/' must be gathered. 
And all this, marvellous as it may seem, and incredible 
withal, even to many who are professedly diligent 
students of the word of God, according to the glorious 
predictions contained in - the thirty-seventh chapter 
of Ezekiel, shall be done. And to the fulfilment of 
that covenant, as presented in that chapter, it may be 
important to look. 

While Ezekiel sat, a grief-stricken captive, far from 
Shiloh's hallowed brook, which flowed fast by the 
oracle of God, on Chebar's dismal heathen banks, the 
hand of the Lord God came upon him, and filled him 
with the Spirit's influence, with prophetic inspiration. 
Under these strong, mighty influences and supernatural 
agency he was carried out into a valley where was 
scattered, in wild and warlike confusion, as if the 
wreck of many battles, and piled up in seeming dis- 
order, very many, vast heaps of human bones. As he 
walked around and gazed upon these remains of the 
dead which had lived and acted in the busy scenes of 



Messiah's kingdom. 



63 



men, and performed their part on the stage of time, he 
saw that all vital moisture had departed from them, 
and that in death they were very dry. Every vestige 
of life had fled, and no germ awakening the hope, or 
prognosticating their return to life, could be seen in 
them. To nature, and to reason's eye, they seemed the 
irreclaimable trophies of death. 

While the prophet's eye rested upon them, and he 
was musing, in sadness and sorrow, upon their dryness, 
the inquiry of the Lord fell upon his ear, " Son of man, 
can these bones live ? ?? The question he felt far too 
difficult for him to answer. He shrank from hazarding 
an opinion ; declared such knowledge too high for 
him ; and threw back the responsibility of saying 
whether these dry bones could live upon the Lord who 
had proposed it, " 0 Lord God, thou knowest." 

Upon this he was commanded to prophesy upon these 
dry bones, and invoke them to hear the word of the 
Lord ; and tell them that the Lord would cause breath 
to enter into them ; that he would lay sinews, flesh, 
and skin upon them ; make them live and know that 
he is the Lord. In prompt and profound obedience to 
this high and strange behest of heaven, the prophet 
proceeded to the work ; " Por/ ; says he, " so I prophe- 
sied as I was commanded ; and as I prophesied there 
was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones 
came together, bone to his bone." In the prophet's 
voice there seemed the omnipotence of God ; for as it 
rolled over that valley in which were piled up heaps 



64 



MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



of dry bones, dismal for its silence, awful for its still- 
ness and accumulated tokens of death, there burst forth 
a noise. Influences new, mighty, and portentous 
seemed to be in operation ; a mighty principle of 
life seemed at work in the realms and citadel of 
death. The dried remains of mortality felt its power, 
and began to shake under its influences. It entered 
these bones strangely, miraculously, communicating 
to them the power of action and the power of recog- 
nition, enabling them to move, and, amidst the confused 
heap^, unerringly to recognise their fellows, and to 
come together to a second and everlasting union. Now 
was heard the thrilling rattling, now was seen the 
wonderful stirring of the very dry bones, in strange 
commotion, each with apparent eagerness seeking his 
fellow from among the vast multitude, and when found 
rushing together with impetuous fondness, like ardent 
lovers, who had long been separated. " Bone came to 
his fellow bone," till each and all had found their pre- 
vious companion, their previous place, till every human 
skeleton was perfect. And while the prophet gazed 
upon these bones, no longer in confused heaps but 
regularly arranged in their places, as they had "been in 
the days of life, articulated skeletons, lo, the sinews 
came and bound them all together ; bone was again 
knit to bone, with sinews stronger than before, with 
sinews immortal, and flesh came upon them, and skin 
covered them. And now, to the prophet's eye, the 
valley was full, not of dry human bones, but full of 



Messiah's kingdom. 



65 



perfect human forms. There they lay, all complete — 
fresh, beautiful, lovely — like so many hushed in sleep, 
enjoying refreshing repose, waiting in their slumbers 
for the bright dawning of the cloudless morn, to enter 
upon the activities of existence. But fresh and beau- 
tiful though they looked, clothed in their new flesh and 
skin, and blushing in more than pristine loveliness, yet 
there was no life in them. 

Again the voice of the Lord fell upon Ezekiel's ear, 
saying, "Prophesy unto the wind, and say unto the 
wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four 
winds, 0 breath, and breathe upon these slain, that 
they may live." The word here translated breath, 
wind, signifies wind, breath, soul, spirit of man. Each 
of these is essential to the life of the body, and each of 
these — not only in the Bible, but in common phrase- 
ology — is frequently used as expressive of life. Since 
the original word has such a variety of shades of 
meaning, the particular shade must be determined by 
the sense of the passage in which it occurs. 

Xow the word wind here doubtless signifies the soul 
or spirit of man. I believe all interpreters agree in 
this. The four winds must signify the four cardinal 
points whence the wind blows. In this sense this 
expression is used in Scripture. It denotes then far 
remote and invisible places, places not seen, not 
explored by mortal eye. It has been remarked, that 
breath has the same meaning as wind : it signifies 
spirit, soul of man, as is manifest from the tenth verse, 



66 



Messiah's kingdom. 



where it is said that breath or soul entered into them: 
that is to say, that the spirits in the remote places 
serving God, at the divine call, returned and entered 
into the reconstructed or resurrection body. Now, if 
this interpretation be correct, then, stripped of all 
shades of Hebrew fertility of language, and rendered 
in plain English, it would read thus : " Then said he 
to me, Prophesy to the souls or spirits (that is, to the 
souls or spirits of these lifeless bodies), prophesy, son 
of man, and say to the spirits or souls, Thus saith the 
Lord God, Come from the north, south, east, and west, 
come from the remote and invisible places where ye 
now dwell, 0 souls, and enter into these slain, that 
they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, 
and the souls came into them, and they lived, and 
stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 7; 
The bones, now clothed with flesh and skin, the bodies 
which lay in beautiful perfection, yet lifeless, were 
again repossessed by the revoked soul, and reanimated 
by the living principle, stood up, an exceeding great 
and glorious army — beautiful, resplendent in the 
divine freshness of their young resurrection. 

Hitherto the prophetic style has been kept up, as if 
all in this vision were literal ; the bones literal, the 
sinews, flesh, skin, souls, all literal, and the souls 
entering into these bodies, and their rising and stand- 
ing up, literal. This has been done, not in ignorance 
that all this has been allegorized, and that the allego- 
rizing has led to very different explanations. Some of 



MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



67 



these allegorizers have said that the dry bones symbol- 
ized the Jews in Babylonish captivity ; that the publi- 
cation of Cyrus on behalf of the Jews was the shaking 
of the bones ; that the edict published by Darius, in 
the second year of his reign, removing impediments out 
of the way, was the clothing of these bones with flesh ; 
and that the mission of Nehemiah, with orders from 
Artaxerxes to complete the building of the temple, was 
the entering of life into them. And surely, beyond all 
controversy, this is allegorical enough ; so highly alle- 
gorical that its extravagant absurdities are its own 
refutation. A people in captivity symbolized by dry 
bones ! Edicts of men in authority, by sinews, flesh, 
and skin ! And a command to build the temple and 
city, by spirits entering into human bodies ! Surely 
this is an interpretation so palpably erroneous, that it 
is unnecessary to enter into any argumentation to 
refute it. This is a manner and mystic style of which 
we have no authenticated instance of the Holy Spirit 
speaking to the children of men. And besides all this, 
the Spirit's own interpretation of the vision refutes it, 
as we shall afterwards see. 

Some have made this vision symbolical of Israel's 
conversion to Christianity. To this view there are 
also strong objections. It makes dry bones a symbol 
of unbelieving Jews ; flesh and skin a symbol of — it is 
difficult to say what, holiness, or something else ; 
breath entering into them, conversion or regeneration. 
Others, again, contend that this is a prophecy concern- 



68 



Messiah's kingdom. 



ing the conversion of the heathen ; and that when the 
gospel is preached in every land, and all the heathen 
converted by its instrumentality, then this prediction 
will be fulfilled. We are most certain this cannot be 
the meaning of the prophecy. These dry bones are 
not symbolic of the heathen, for the Holy Ghost de- 
clares, " these bones are the whole house of Israel." 
The term Israel here is a distinctive name, and denotes 
only the descendants of Israel, the seed of Abraham, 
the Jews. Israel is never once used in Scripture to 
denote the heathen or Gentile nations, but uniformly 
the children of Abraham, the peculiar, the chosen, the 
covenant people of God. Israel therefore cannot 
mean the heathen here, as it never does anywhere, and 
consequently their conversion is not foretold in the 
passage ; but, on the contrary, the resurrection of 
Abraham and his descendants. 

Now it does appear that there is no symbol, no 
figure, in the vision of the valley of dry bones. All is 
literal, and ought to be understood just as it reads, 
and according to the common acceptation of language. 
If this is not a description of a literal resurrection, 
then we have not a literal resurrection described in 
the Bible. We have here the great and grand rudi- 
mental parts of the human body, and these too accu- 
rately and beautifully anatomically arranged. We 
have the bones, and then the sinews or tendons, which 
strongly bind together and partially cover these 
bones, and then we have the flesh attached to these 



MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



69 



sinews and covering them ; and then we have the skin 
inwrapping all in its delicate and beautiful texture, 
and. to complete the living being, the spirit is revoked 
from the invisible place of residence, and by the 
power of God made to enter the newly reconstructed 
body, and then what had been lifeless, dead, stand up 
an army of living human beings. The laterality of this 
passage is inadvertently admitted by these allegori- 
zers ; for when they come to speak of a literal resur- 
rection they freely use this passage as referring to 
that event and describing it. Xow one thing is cer- 
tain, it cannot have both an allegorical and literal 
interpretation. And when it is obviously literal, and 
the literal meaning so obvious, why should there be 
any effort to mystify it by allegorizing ? 

But this is not all ; the Holy Ghost interprets it 
literally, and the whole of the Scriptures, referring to 
God's covenant with Abraham and his seed, interpret 
it literally. And consequently this is one of the strong 
passages teaching that Gods covenant with that people, 
which has never yet been fulfilled, shall be fulfilled, 
and that all those who died in the faith of inheriting 
the land of covenant and promise shall yet possess it. 

Concerning these bones the Holy Ghost declares 
they are the whole house of Israel, or Jacob. Israel is 
•the name which the angel gave to Jacob after having 
wrestled all night with him at Mahanaim. It signifies 
a prince of God. It is sometimes used to denote 
Jacob, the person to whom it was originally given ; 



70 



Messiah's kingdom. 



and very frequently, as every reader of the Bible 
knows, it denotes the descendants of Jacob ; and some- 
times all the tribes of Israel, or the whole house of 
Jacob — Abraham and his descendants. And the 
expression, " these bones are the whole house of Israel," 
is doubtless to be understood in its most extensive sig- 
nification, as meaning all the children of Jacob or 
Israel — all the descendants of Abraham, according to 
the faith. Not all his natural posterity, but all his 
natural believing posterity ; for the covenant was not 
made with the children according to the flesh merely, 
but with (he children according to the flesh and the faith. 
By the expression, then, " these bones are the whole 
house of Israel," we are to understand the whole believ- 
ing house of Israel, who have died and gone down to 
the chambers of the dead. All their bones were exhi- 
bited to Ezekiel in vision ; and not only theirs, but all 
who have died in the faith since the time of the vision; 
and not only they, but all of Abraham's believing seed 
who shall yet die before the glorious resurrection of 
the vision shall be realized. These dry bones, then, 
are the literal bones of all Abraham's believing children, 
according to the interpretation of the Holy Ghost ; 
and these bones are to be restored to life, that they 
may inherit the promised land, and that God's ancient 
and never-forgotten covenant made with Abraham, 
renewed to Isaac and Jacob, and clearly referred to by 
the angel Gabriel, when announcing the conception of 
the Messiah to his virgin mother, may be fulfilled. 



Messiah's kingdom. 



71 



The angel Gabriel, in his announcement to Mary, 
evidently quotes from the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel 
says these bones are the whole house of Israel; Gabriel 
says he shall reign over the house of Jacob. Israel and 
Jacob are but different names of the same person ; and 
if the bones in the valley of Ezekiel's vision are the 
whole house, or representatives of the whole house of 
Israel or Jacob, then when the promise made by the 
angel to Mary is fulfilled, Jesus, or the Son of the 
Highest, shall reign over these bones ; for these bones 
are the whole house of Israel or Jacob. 

The prophet represents them in the state in which 
he saw them as giving utterance to their despondency 
in these words, 11 Behold, they say, our bones are 
dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for our 
parts." This may be viewed as the language of 
despair, involving an unanswerable argument that 
God's covenant with them would never be fulfilled — 
they would never inherit the land of Canaan. It is 
as if these lifeless things were endued with speech 
only to tell and argue their dismal despair. " Our 
bones are dried," so thoroughly dried, that there is no 
living moisture in them, and their dryness is the unan- 
swerable argument that they cannot live. But in 
response to this, true, and powerful, and conclusive as 
it may seem, Jehovah replies, " You shall live." 

" Our hope is lost." What are we to understand by 
this expression ? What is the hope of Israel, said to 
be lost ? Hope is the expectation of future good : but 



72 



Messiah's kingdom. 



in Scripture it is frequently used for the thing hoped 
for, and that is doubtless the meaning of the term hope 
here. According to this, then, the thing hoped for is 
lost. Now what was the thing hoped for by Israel ? 
It is doubtless the land given by God in covenant to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; the land in which they, 
and their Shiloh at their head, are to dwell in peace, 
plenty, happiness, and glory, exalted above, and reigning 
over all other nations. That this was the hope of 
Israel Paul has placed beyond the possibility of a 
doubt, in his defence before king Agrippa, when he 
says, " I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise 
made of God unto our fathers ; unto which promise 
our twelve tribes, serving God day and night, expect 
to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am 
accused of the Jews." The same truth is clearly taught 
in the explanation which he gave to the Jews in Rome, 
for being in the custody of a Roman soldier, when he 
said, " For the hope of Israel am I bound with this 
chain." God promised to the fathers and their seed 
the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession ; this 
land, in consequence of this promise, became the hope 
of that whole people or nation. That inheritance was 
the thing hoped for by Abraham and all his descend- 
ants, and that is the hope divinely begotten in the heart 
of every Jew ; and wherever you find one of Abra- 
ham's scattered children, you find this hope occupying a 
pre-eminent place in his bosom, and his eye and affec- 
tions ever turning to that land of promise and of hope. 



Messiah's kingdom. 



73 



Now the dry bones are represented as saying " our 
hope is lost the inheritance and all its concomitant 
blessings promised to our fathers are lost to us ; we 
are dead and dried, and can never inherit that land, 
which is thy land, 0 Immanuel. But the spirit of 
prophecy contradicts the despondency ; the Lord God 
says, your hope is not lost, your promised inheritance 
not lost, it shall yet be yours, for I, by my mighty 
power, will restore life to your dry bones, will bring 
you up out of your graves ; " I will bring you into the 
land of Israel; I will place you in your own land. 11 Though 
you be dead, and your bones dry, yet your hope, 
your inheritance, is not lost. I will restore you to life, 
and bring you into that land I have covenanted to 
give you. You shall dwell in that land, and my 
Beloved shall be king over you all. 

It is added farther, " We are cut off for our parts." 
This might have been rendered, we are dead or 
destroyed from our parts ; that is, we are dead, and 
consequently cut off from the land of promise to our 
fathers, for this is what is meant by parts. It signi- 
fies rest, habitation, possession, inheritance. Being 
dead they feel they were cut off from that inheritance, 
and that the land of Israel was not to be theirs. But 
this was not so ; God's purpose and covenant were yet 
to be fulfilled ; and though they were dead, yet in 
order to the fulfilment of that covenant they would be 
raised to life, brought up out of their graves, and 
brought into their own land ; and then they would 

4 



74 . Messiah's kingdom. 

know and feel that they were not cut off from their 
parts. 

It may be proper to notice in passing that " the hope 
of Israel" or the thing promised in the Abrahamic 
covenant, is the one great, grand, and glorious hope of 
the gospel. " The hope" or the thing promised in the 
Abrahamic covenant and the gospel, are not different, 
but the same. There is not one hope to the believing 
Jew and another to the believing Gentile ; but one 
hope, common to both ; for by faith the Gentile 
becomes the spiritual seed of Abraham, and an heir of 
the same promise, or inheritance, namely, the promised 
land, the kingdom of God and Shiloh. This is clearly 
the doctrine of Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, 
when he says, "Ye are all the children of God by faith 
in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been 
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is 
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free 7 
there is neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in 
Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abra- 
ham's seed and heirs, according to the promise" He 
teaches precisely the same doctrine when he tells us 
that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the fathers, and the mul- 
titude of the Old Testament saints, the more conspi- 
cuous of whom he mentions in the eleventh chapter of 
his Epistle to the Hebrews — the great cloud of wit- 
nesses — " all died in the faith/ 7 not having received the 
promises, that is the thing contained in the promises, 
which is the land of Canaan, the hope of Israel. And 



s 

MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 



75 



the reason of their not attaining this he assigns — " that 
they," the fathers, " without us," their remote believing 
descendants, and the believing Gentiles, " might not 
be made perfect." The fathers were not the only 
individuals who were to inherit that land ; there were 
other heirs, heirs of the seed of Abraham according to 
the flesh, and Gentile heirs of the seed of Abraham 
according to the faith ; and consequently the Fathers, 
with whom the covenant was made, could not inherit 
the thing bequeathed in the covenant until all the 
heirs were ready and prepared to enter upon the inhe- 
ritance with them ; they without us who had to live in 
these remote ages of the world and Christianity " could 
not be made perfect." 

They are not perfect now, their spirits are only 
waiting and their flesh resting, in the hope of that 
coming perfection. They may be, and doubtless are, 
shining in glory and rejoicing in happiness in paradise; 
but whatever may be their situation there, it is dis- 
tinctly admitted by Paul that they are not perfect. 
Their spirits may be perfect in holiness, but as re- 
deemed human beings they are not perfect, neither 
have they as yet entered upon their inheritance. And 
this perfection they cannot attain until their bodies 
arise from the grave ; neither can they possess the 
inheritance, the hope, until they arise. When they are 
raised up out of their graves, their bodies fashioned 
like unto Christ's glorious body, then will they be 
made perfect, then will they be made like God, and 



76 



Messiah's kingdom. 



enter upon the possession of their inheritance. But 
they have not thus been made perfect, neither are they 
to be without us, and all subsequent believers under 
the gospel dispensation, until all whom the Father has 
given to the Son be born and brought to the faith ; for 
all believers in ail ages have to be made perfect, and 
enter upon the inheritance at the same time, the time 
of the first resurrection. Then will be the time of 
believing Israel, believing Jew, and Gentile, being 
made perfect, and entering upon the possession of their 
hope, the land of Israel. 

The hope of the Abrahamic covenant, then, and the 
hope of the gospel is the same ; or the thing promised 
to Abraham and his believing children in the cove- 
nant, and the thing promised to believing Gentiles in the 
gospel, is the same. The thing promised is the land 
of Judea, Immanuel's land, the kingdom of God, the 
kingdom of the Father, the inheritance incorruptible, 
undefiled, and that fadeth not away. This is the king- 
dom which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when the 
covenant with them and Christ their seed is fulfilled — 
and it is the kingdom too which the believing, the 
saved Gentiles, who through faith become heirs of the 
promise— are to inherit when they come from the four 
winds of heaven, and sit down with these fathers " in 
the kingdom. 11 This is clearly the teaching of the 
Bible, and especially is it the teaching of the gospel of 
the Son of God. And if this Abrahamic covenant, 
which is in reality the very foundation of the gospel, 



Messiah's kingdom. 



be not understood, then the gospel, apart from that 
covenant, cannot be understood ; if the hope of the 
covenant is not understood, the hope of the gospel 
cannot be understood, for they are not only inseparably 
connected, they are one. Neither can it be understood 
how believers of the gospel can be Abraham's seed, 
" and with him heirs according to the promise.' 7 

But to return. We have seen that all Abraham's 
seed slumbering in the grave, which are the house of 
Jacob, are to be raised up out of their graves and 
brought into the land of Canaan, the land of covenant 
and promise. Simultaneous with the fulfilment of this 
glorious prediction, will be the fulfilment of that in the 
subsequent part of the chapter referring to the Jews 
then living upon the earth. The Jews living upon the 
earth at that time as they are now, in a state of dis- 
persion, tribe separated from tribe, and all distinctions 
so thoroughly lost, that no man can tell from whom he 
has descended — these people scattered to the winds of 
heaven, and dwelling in every land, and among every 
people, oppressed, persecuted by all — these people, the 
people of the covenant, long and miraculously kept 
separate from the heathen among whom they have lived, 
are to be gathered and brought back into their own 
land— brought back to their own city Jerusalem, 
which is to be rebuilt, when " the times of the Gentiles 
are fulfilled," and to their much loved and ever remem- 
bered " Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their 
heads," and to their long looked for Shiloh, " to whom 



78 



Messiah's kingdom. 



the gathering of the people shall be," for they too are 
a part of the house of Jacob. " Thus saith the Lord 
God, Behold I will take the children of Israel from 
among the heathen, whither they be gone, and I will 
gather them on every side, and bring them into their 
own land : and I will make them one nation in the land 
upon the mountains of Israel : and one king shall be 
king to them all ; and they shall be no more two 
nations, neither shall they be divided into two king- 
doms any more at all : neither shall they defile them- 
selves any more with their idols, nor with their 
detestable things, nor any of their transgressions : but 
I will save them out of all their dwelling-places where- 
in they have sinned, and will cleanse them ; so that 
they be my people, and I will be their God. And 
David my servant shall be king over them all : and 
they shall have one shepherd : they shall also walk in 
my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 
And they shall dwell in the land that 1 have given to 
Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt : 
and they shall dwell therein, even they and their child- 
ren, and their children's children for ever ; and my 
servant David shall be their prince for ever. More- 
over, I will make a covenant of peace with them : it 
shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I will 
place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary 
in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle 
also shall be with them : yea I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. And the heathen," or Gen- 



Messiah's kingdom. 



79 



tiles, " shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, 
when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for 
evermore." (Ezek. xxxvii. 21-28.) 

Now in all this it is clearly and plainly taught, that 
dispersed Israel, or Jacob, shall be gathered from the 
lands, whither God in his anger has driven them, into 
their own land. Nor is this taught only in the prophecy 
which we have just quoted ; but in many other pro- 
phecies of which the following may serve as a specimen. 
The whole of the forty -ninth chapter of Isaiah teaches 
strongly and clearly this truth : — represents Israel or 
Jacob, as gathered by the Lord out of all nations : 
their enemies utterly destroyed ; the heavens singing, 
the earth rejoicing over their return to Zion ; and con- 
cludes by declaring that " all flesh shall know that the 
Lord is their Saviour and Redeemer, the mighty one 
of Jacob 77 — the king to reign over the house of Jacob. 
And when speaking of the great and glorious work of 
Israel's gathering, as being already accomplished, and 
they dwelling safely in their own inheritance: "The 
Sun shall be no more thy light by day : /neither for 
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the 
Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy 
God thy glory. Thy sun* shall no more go down : 
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : for the Lord 
shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended. Thy people shall be all 
righteous : they shall inherit the land for ever, the 
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I 



80 Messiah's kingdom. 

may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, 
and a small one a strong nation : I the Lord will hasten 
it in his time" (Isa. lx. 19-22). Jeremiah says, " Behold 
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto 
David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and 
prosper, and shall execute judgment, and justice on the 
earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel 
shall dwell safely ; and this is his name whereby he 
shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, that they shall no more say, the Lord liveth 
which brought up the children of Israel out of the land 
of Egypt : but the Lord liveth which brought up, and 
which led the seed of the house of Israel, out of the 
north country, and from all countries whither I have 
driven them ; and they shall dwell in their own land" 
(chap, xxiii. 5-8). And again, " Behold, I will gather 
them out of all countries whither I have driven them 
in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath ; 
and I will bring them again into this place, and I will 
cause them to dwell safely ; and they shall be my peo- 
ple, and I will be their God. And I will give them 
one heart, and* one way, that they may fear me for ever, 
for the good of them, and of their children after them : 
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, 
that I will not turn away from them, to do them good ; 
but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall 
not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to 
do them good, and I will plant them in this land as- 



Messiah's kingdom. 81 

suredly with my whole heart, and with my whole soul" 
(chap, xxxii. 37-41). So in the following chapter 
(v. 7-14), " And I will cause the captivity of Judah, 
and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build 
them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all 
their iniquity, whereby they have sinned, and whereby 
they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to 
me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all 
the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good 
that I do unto them : and they shall fear and tremble 
for all the goodness, and all the prosperity, that I pro- 
cure unto it. Thus saith the Lord, again there shall 
be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate 
without man, and without beast, even in the cities of 
Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, 
without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, 
the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice 
of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride ; the 
voice of them that shall say, praise the LORD of hosts : 
for the Lord is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : 
and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise 
into the house of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD 
of hosts, again in this place, which is desolate, without 
man, and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, 
shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks 
• to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the 
cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and 
in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jeru- 
salem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass 

4* 



82 



Messiah's kingdom. 



again under the hand of him that telleth them, saith 
the Lord. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that 
I will perform that good thing which I have promised 
unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah." 
Other prophecies from Bzekiel might be quoted, but 
one shall suffice. " For I will take you from among 
the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and 
will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle 
clean water upou you, and ye shall be clean : from all 
your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit 
will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony 
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of 
flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause 
you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the 
land I gave to your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, 
and I will be your God. I will also save you from 
all your uncleannesses ; and I will call for the corn, 
and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And 
I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase 
of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of 
famine among the heathen." (Ezek. xxxvi. 24-30.) 

The minor prophets teach with equal clearness the 
same glorious truth, for thus it is written, in Amos ix. 
11-15 : " In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of 
David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof: 
and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in 
the days of old : that they may possess the remnant of 



MESSIAH S KINGDOM. 



83 



Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my 
name, saith the Lord, that doeth this. Behold the days 
come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall over- 
take the reapers, and the treader of grapes him that 
soweth seed : and the mountains shall drop sweet wine 
and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the 
captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build 
the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant 
vineyards, and drink the wine thereof ; they shall also 
make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will 
plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be 
pulled up out of their land, which I have given them, 
saith the Lord thy God." Zephaniah says, " Behold, at 
that time I will undo all that afflict thee ; and I will 
save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven 
out ; and I will get them praise and fame in every 
land where they have been put to shame. At that 
time will I bring you again, even in the time that I 
gather you ; for I will make you a name and a praise 
among all the people of the earth, when I turn back 
your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord" (chap, 
iii. 19, 20). And again, " Thus saith the Lord, I am 
returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of 
Jerusalem ; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of 
truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy 
mountain. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall 
yet old men and old women dwell . in the streets of 
Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand 
for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full 



84 



Messiah's kingdom. 



of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus 
saith the Lord of hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes 
of the remnant of this people in these days, should it 
also be marvellous in mine eyes ? saith the Lord of 
hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will 
save my people from the east country, and from the 
west country ; and I will bring them, and they shall 
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ; and they shall be my 
people, and I will be their God,, in truth and in right- 
eousness " (Zech. viii. 3-8). 

Now surely these prophetic portions of God's word 
do most clearly and distinctly teach that dead Israel, 
represented by the dry bones, shall be restored to life; 
shall be brought up out of their graves, and brought 
into their own land; and that dispersed, wandering, 
bleeding, God-afflicted Israel, shall be gathered from 
the four winds of heaven and brought into that same 
land of covenant and promise. When these prophetic 
declarations, almost universally admitted to be yet 
unfulfilled, are fulfilled ; when all these people are 
gathered into^ the land of Israel, they will form the 
house of Israel, or, according to the angel Gabriel, the 
house of Jacob, and David, the servant of God the 
Father, " will be king over them all or he shall reign 
over them all as the house of Jacob. 

The word David, the name generally given to the 
sweet singer of Israel, the son of Jesse,- does not, in the 
prophecy under consideration, refer to that individual. 
The word David signifies, Beloved, my Beloved ; and 



Messiah's kingdom. 



85 



here, as elsewhere, denotes or means Jesus Christ, as is 
admitted by commentators. And the precious truth 
taught is, that he, the Father's Beloved, is to reign 
over the united nation of Israel, signified by the house 
of Jacob gathered into their own land ; and conse- 
quently, in this respect, the territorial extent of 
Messiah's kingdom will be the whole land of Israel, or 
Canaan, " a large land." 

What will be the actual number of the house of 
Jacob, when fully gathered from the grave and the 
lands of their dispersion, and brought by the mighty 
hand and the glorious power of the God of the cove- 
nant, it is impossible to say, calculate, or even in any 
degree conjecture. But when we think on the resur- 
rection, and changed glorified saints, which will be a 
multitude which no man can number,. and the mortal 
saints converted at that period, and their ever increas- 
ing numbers, we must see and feel persuaded that the 
house of Jacob, the heirs of the land, the subjects of 
Messiah, will form a multitude great and glorious 
beyond all computation. Then will the children of 
the covenant, the seed of Abraham, of Jacob, be as the 
stars of the sky, as the sand upon the sea-shore ; and 
if these cannot be numbered, neither can the gathered 
house of Jacob, neither can the subjects of Prince 
Messiah's kingdom. And whatever may be the number 
of the subjects of this divine and glorious kingdom at 
its commencement, they are destined perpetually to 
increase. As ages roll on they will perpetually mul- 



86 



Messiah's kingdom. 



tiply> f° r the sure word of prophecy affirms, " of the 
increase of His government there shall be no end." 

And while the number of the house of Jacob over** 
whom the Prince is to reign will be very great, so also 
will be the territorial kingdom. It will not be that small 
portion of land extending from the shores of the Medi- 
terranean sea to a little beyond the river Jordan, and 
from the southernmost point of the Dead sea to a little 
north of the lake of Genezareth, including a territory 
of about nine thousand square miles, which the tribes 
occupied after their return from Egypt. It is a far 
greater territory than that, and is truly, in the em- 
phatic language of Scripture, " a good and a large " 
land, including many other kingdoms or countries 
beyond the territory occupied by Israel in the days of 
Joshua and David, and its boundaries are clearly and 
distinctly marked out in Scripture. In the covenant 
with Abraham, the Lord defined the western and 
eastern boundaries of that land, when he said, " Unto 
thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt" 
(the Nile) " unto the great river, the river Euphrates." 
This points out the width of the land, concerning 
which the greatest mistakes have been made. Instead 
of extending from the Mediterranean sea to a little 
beyond the river Jordan, it extends from the Nile over 
• many other kingdoms and countries, till it reaches the 
far remote Persian gulf and the river Euphrates, which 
pours its flood of waters gathered from the vast regions 
of Armenia, Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Shinar into it. 



Messiah's kingdom. 



87 



Ezekiel thus points out the boundaries of the land 
(chap, xlvii. 13-23) : " Thus saith the Lord God, This 
shall be the border whereby ye shall inherit the land, 
according to the twelve tribes of Israel : Joseph shall 
have two portions ; and ye shall inherit it, one as well 
as another ; concerning the which I lifted up mine 
hand to give it unto your fathers. And this land 
shall fall unto you for inheritance. And this shall be 
the border of the land toward the north side, from the 
great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedab ; 
Hamath, Berothah, Sebraim, which is between the 
border of Damascus and the border of Hamath ; Hazar- 
hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. And the 
border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border 
of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border 
of Hamath. And this is the north side. And the east 
side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, 
and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by 
Jordan, from the border unto the east sea (Persian 

gulf). And this is the east side So shall ye divide 

this land unto you, according unto the tribes of Israel." 
Or, in other words, the land of promise, or the land of 
Israel, is bounded on the west by the great or Mediter- 
ranean sea ; on tl?e north by the great and extensive 
range of the mountains of Amanus, running directly 
to the Euphrates ; on the east by the great river 
Euphrates, flowing into the Persian gulf ; and on the 
south by the Arabian desert ; starting from the north 
side of Kazma bay, in the Persian gulf, running across 



88 



Messiah's kingdom. 



the great desert, crossing the gulf of Suez, striking the 
Nile, or as it is called in Scripture, " the great river of 
Egypt," about twenty miles above the city of Cairo, 
and a little below Atfieh, then running down the Nile 
to the Mediterranean sea. 

Now that, as dearly pointed out by God himself, is 
the extent of territory to be possessed by Israel when 
the covenant with Abraham is fulfilled, and when the 
Son of the Highest, seated upon the throne of his 
father David, shall reign over the house of Jacob. It 
is verily a " large land and this we might have 
expected it would be from the covenant, and the decla- 
rations of God concerning it, from the people who were 
to inhabit it, and from the fact of it being "Immanuel's 
land." On the north from the Mediterranean sea to 
the river Euphrates is one hundred miles ; on the 
south from the Nile to the Persian gulf eleven hundred 
miles ; and from north to south five hundred miles ; r 
making an area of three hundred thousand square 
miles. This is a territory greater than any kingdom 
or empire in Europe, Russia alone excepted. It con- 
tains more square miles than the combined territory of 
the ten kingdoms of Europe, Prussia, Belgium, the 
Netherlands, Bavaria, Saxony, Hant)ver, Wurtemburg, 
Denmark, Sardinia, and Greece. Or it is as large as 
all the eastern, middle, and half the southern states of 
our country. Or it is only one third smaller than all 
our western states. Comparisons like these give us 
some idea of the vast extent of the land of Israel ; and 



MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



89 



when we look at it by such comparisons, we cannot 
fail to see the truth of the Bible statement — it is " a 
large land." 

" The Lord formed Israel for his glory, and chose 
them as his peculiar people ; and peculiar too is the 
land which he assigned them, even as respects its 
borders. The Mediterranean, the Red sea, and the 
Persian gulf form on the west, the south, and the east 
borders of a land which, but for these inland seas, 
would be wholly encircled by Asia, Africa, and Europe, 
and shut out from all direct communication with the 
Pacific and Atlantic, and the lesser oceans of the 
globe. The river of Egypt to the Mediterranean, and 
that sea from the mouth of the Xile to the estuary of 
the Orontes, and the Euphrates from the foot of Ama- 
nus to the Persian gulf, leave not the smallest portion 
of the west side or of the east side that is not actually 
or virtually a navigable coast, to the extent on both 
sides of two thousand miles ; while on the north the 
intermediate barrier of Amanus, at the breadth of less 
than one hundred, renders the land a garden inclosed. " 

From its geographical position, the land of Israel 
seems the very centre of the earth. Perhaps there is 
no land on the face of the globe so surrounded by seas 
and navigable rivers, which are doubtless God's 
divinely-prepared highways, not only to carry his 
peculiar people, the people of the covenant, thither, 
when the time of their gathering from all lands comes, 
but also to carry afterwards the converted nations, 



90 



Messiah's kingdom. 



when they shall go up to Jerusalem from year to year 
to worship before the Lord the King. From every 
land, and the islands of the sea, from the rising sun to 
the farthest west, these highways of waters make easy 
access and entrance into that land ; and these, much 
as they may seem trodden now, in the bustle of com- 
merce, are all waiting for the multitudes of travellers 
yet destined to throng them, their faces all Zionward, 
when the enraptured cry from that God-honoured and 
inhabited city shall meet them. 

" From every land they come ; 
To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy." 

But this " good and large land/' a garden inclosed 
and peculiarly accessible on every side and at every 
point, and Israel's peculiar inheritance, is not all that 
shall be theirs, or under their peculiar government, or 
subservient to them. The surrounding countries, 
which of old were full of their enemies, shall be inha- 
bited only by their friends; and they, by God's special 
authority, shall rule over these nations, and they shall 
be their willing and delighted servants. Instead of 
the Pharaohs, or any like them, being kings of Egypt, 
as in the days of old, the princes of Israel, and they 
only, shall rule there ; and this will add a tributary 
territory to their land of one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand square miles. The kingdom of Mesopotamia too, 
stretching from the Euphrates to the Tigris ; and of 



Messiah's kingdom. 



91 



Assyria, extending from the Tigris to the mountains of 
Media ; and from Armenia or the Black sea, south 
to the Persian gulf; and again from the mountains of 
Media on to the Caspian sea, shall have no king to 
rule over them, but the divinely-appointed and anointed 
of Judah and David's princely line, the princes of 
Israel. All these and other vast kingdoms or empires 
shall be entirely under Jewish sway, and yield fealty 
to them and to Him who shall sit upon Israel's throne. 
They may have their kings, but the princes of Israel, 
the plenipotentiaries of him who is the Prince of 
Peace, and the Father of the everlasting age, shall rule 
over them. All these lands, as well as the land of 
Israel, shall be under the sceptre of Immanuel : and 
thev shall bring their wealth and their treasures to him. 
Oh, how vast, how magnificent this kingdom ! What a 
beautiful development of the riches of the goodness 
and munificence of God ! How glorious and extensive 
the kingdom to be possessed by his people, according 
to the ancient covenant, and reigned over by his Son, 
the raised up seed of David, when he shall sit upon his 
Father's rebuilt throne, and reign over the fully 
gathered house of Jacob ! 

According to this, then, the kingdom of Israel shall 
not only be large, but the people of Israel shall be 
chief, supreme among the nations. As they were once 
supreme by the special favour and mighty exalting 
power of God, though now rejected, despised, and 
down-trodden in the dust, so shall they be again ; but 



92 



Messiah's kingdom. 



their next supremacy shall far surpass their former. 
There they shall be the highly honoured and greatly 
blessed nation of the great King, whom all the nations 
of the earth shall honour and serve ; the rulers that 
shall exercise a divine and righteous authority over all 
countries ; and the light that shall enlighten all lands. 
That they shall occupy this high and unrivalled posi- 
tion through the exalting power and ever abiding 
presence of their Lord the King, is clearly, though 
not extensively nor minutely, set forth in scripture. It 
is taught in passages like these : " Therefore thy gates 
shall be open continually ; they shall not be shut day 
nor night ; that men may bring unto thee the forces of 
the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 
For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee 
shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly 
wasted. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall 
come bending unto thee ; and all they that despise 
thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy 
feet ; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The 
Zion of the Holy One of Israel " (Is. lx. 11-14). "And 
their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and % their 
offspring among the people ; all that see them shall 
acknowledge them that they are the seed which the 
Lord hath blessed " (Is. lxi. 9). " At that time will I 
bring you again, even in the time that I gather you ; 
for I will make you a name and a praise among all 
people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity 
before your eyes, saith the Lord" (Zeph. iii. 20). "And 



Messiah's kingdom. 



93 



all nations shall call you blessed " (Mai. iii. 12). These 
passages seem sufficient to establish the doctrine, that 
when Israel inhabit their own large kingdom they will 
be supreme among the nations. None will dispute 
their supremacy ; none will muster in battle array 
their vast and well trained forces to overthrow it. All 
will acknowledge it, from the rising of the sun to the 
going down of the same ; and all will willingly and 
joyfully pay homage unto it. If any nation dares be 
delinquent in such service destruction is its certain 
doom — " it shall perish.' 7 

But large as we have seen the land of Canaan, 
Messiah's kingdom to be, when in glory he shall reign 
over the house of Jacob, we have not yet seen its full 
extent. Ah, no. "When the heavens reveal Him at the 
time of the restitution of all things ; when he shall 
come to be Israel's king, they, converted to him as the 
Messiah, and ready to receive him as such, will, with 
one voice, exclaim, " Blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord !" The veil of Moses being taken 
from their hearts, and they seeing clearly that this is 
the Shiloh promised to the fathers, as a nation, they 
will repent and believe in him. And being thus con- 
verted to the true faith, as Christ did before, so he will 
do again : send them forth missionaries, to preach the 
gospel of his kingdom to other nations ; for the disci- 
ples, the seventy, Paul, and Peter, were only types of 
what they as a nation shall be. Again he will invest 
the Jews with his divine commission, and send them 



94 



Messiah's kingdom. 



forth with greater power and success than went the 
twelve of old. Salvation was first and specially made 
known unto the Jews, and salvation is of them, for of 
them Christ came, and they were the first messengers 
of salvation to the Gentiles. It was through their 
labours and preaching that the gospel was carried 
beyond the territory of Judea, and proclaimed in many 
heathen lands. And again this high, and holy, and 
honourable work is awaiting them ; for when Messiah 
comes he declares, " I will send those that escape " 
(from the battle of Armageddon) " of them unto the 
nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, 
to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have 
not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory ; and 
they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. " 

That the Jews in this case are to be the messengers 
sent admits not of a doubt, for they are the persons 
who will then have specially heard of Messiah's fame 
and seen his glory ; they are the persons here spoken 
of as exalted to high posts of special honour ; and 
while they are to be priests and Levites to the Lord, 
so also are they to*be his messengers to the Gentiles ; 
to those islands and their inhabitants, and perhaps to 
others like them, who have not heard his fame nor seen 
his glory. According to this, another deputation of 
Jewish missionaries, receiving their commission directly 
from the Lord the King, as did the apostles of old, 
shall visit heathen nations, declaring the true character 
of Messiah ; not merely setting forth his humiliation, 



MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 



95 



suffering,, and death, and declaring these to be an 
atonement for the sins of men, but also proclaiming his 
resurrection from the dead, and exaltation to boundless, 
inconceivable glory ; not only revealing him as the 
crucified, but also as the supremely glorified ; and, by 
a power peculiarly their own under this new dispen- 
sation of missions, proclaiming him the Saviour. This 
proclamation and glorious preaching, full of such glad 
tidings, accompanied by the special and all successful 
blessing and power of him who commissioned them, 
every Gentile ear will be open to hear, and every heart 
ready to believe ; to believe in him whom they declare 
to be the Saviour and the KING, and exalt him to 
the throne of the affections. Xo sooner will his name 
be announced, and his glory declared, than men will 
believe : for then Satan's power and influence will have 
been utterly annihilated, and that of the Lord the 
King alone will exist in its unopposed mightiness over 
all the earth : and then shall the whole of its inhabit- 
ants in that great day of his power be a willing 
people. Satan, the arch deceiver and leader in all 
earthly revolt, in the bottomless pit, shut up and sealed, 
will exert no opposing influences : will not fill the 
mind with enmity to the truth ; but, under the only and 
everywhere mighty influence of the only ruling, holy 
king Jesus, all men will profoundly listen to the glo- 
rious proclamation of saving truth : all will receive 
the glad tidings, full of great joy, and all will believe. 
The divinely-commissioned heralds of conversion, the 



96 



Messiah's kingdom. 



brethren of the great King according to the flesh, 
running to and fro, shall visit all lands, go into all the 
earth, preaching these glad tidings, till every ear of 
man has heard, and every dweller upon the earth 
believed, in him whom they reveal, until " the earth is 
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea until from the rising of the sun even unto 
the going down of the same, his name shall be great 
among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall 
be offered unto his name, and a pure offering ; for his 
name shall be great among the heathen*" 

Thus will the reign of peace and blessedness, the 
glorious millennium, be introduced, and not by mis- 
sionary operations, as they are carried on in the 
present day. These may and do serve God's gracious 
and glorious purposes of gathering a people unto him- 
self from among the Gentiles ; a multitude which no 
man can number, out of every kindred, tongue, and 
people, and nation ; and ought therefore to be carried 
on with a thousand times more munificent pecuniary 
contributions, energy, and self-consuming zeal on the 
part of the Christian church than they have ever been. 
But great as these efforts may be, involving the whole 
mightiest energies of the church, they cannot introduce 
the millennium, because they cannot bind Satan and 
cast him into the abyss ; and while he is at large, as 
he has been since the seduction of our first parents in 
Eden, there can be no millennium. Let the missionary 
of the cross go where he may, sowing the good seed of 



Messiah's kingdom, 07 

the word, the wicked one will be there sowing the 
tares, and under his influence the thorns will spring up 
and choke the good seed. It will be as it has been for 
six thousand years. He will keep up in the heart of 
man hatred of the truth, enmity to God, and rule in 
the hearts of the children of disobedience. Wherever 
the sons of God meet to present themselves before the 
Lord, he will be sure to be among them, exerting his 
influence to their injury, exciting unhallowed feelings, 
heartburnings, and divisions. To his evil influences 
upon the hearts of men, to his mighty opposition to 
the progress of the truth, there shall be no end while 
he is at large, like a roaring lion going about seeking 
whom he may devour. And whatever therefore may 
be the efforts of the church, and her praiseworthy 
exertions to convert all nations, yet her mightiest 
endeavors must ever fail, as they have heretofore done 
under apostles and the special outpourings of the Holy 
Spirit, while Satan, the inveterate enemy of the human 
race, is continually working in the hearts of the chil- 
dren of disobedience. While Satan is at large as he 
has been, it is manifest from the past there can be no 
millennium ; and the teachings of scripture are clear 
and positive on this point, there will be none, until the 
angel comes down from heaven and binds and shuts up 
Satan in the bottomless pit, and sets a seal upon him, 
that he shall deceive the nations no more till the thou- 
sand years are fulfilled. The binding and shutting up 
of Satan, then f is necessary to the introduction and, 

5 



98 



Messiah's kingdom. 



existence of the millennium ; and until that is done, no 
matter what the church does now to Christianize the 
world, she cannot have the glorious and blessed reign 
of Christ for which the whole creation is groaning and 
travailing in pain together. 

But when Satan is thus bound and shut up, it is 
evident that he can no longer exert his deceptive, 
seductive, soul-destroying influences upon the nations ; 
and his influences being thus utterly removed from the 
earth, there will be nothing to oppose the truth, or the 
progress of the truth. Its way being prepared by the 
great King himself, an universal combination of influ- 
ences will aid its onward progress. It will appear to 
every one who hears it to be what it really is, the truth 
of God, which saves souls, and glorifies its author. It 
will appear precious, lovely, supremely desirable in its 
divine beauty, glory, and bliss-giving power. Every 
heart will intensely desire it, every soul will cordially 
embrace it. As then the divinely commissioned chil- 
dren of Abraham go forth into this Satan-dispossessed 
world, and proclaim Christ the Saviour and the King 
of all nations, as they advance over earth's provinces, 
men will arise to hail them, as the sleepers of the 
night arise to welcome the beams of the morning ; .and 
receiving the message in faith which they bring, encou- 
rage them on their way, on their errand of mercy, in 
the great work of converting the world. Unbounded 
prosperity attending their embassy, onward they will 
go, strong in the might of the Lord, from kingdom to 



Messiah's kingdom. 



99 



kingdom, from island to island, until they have com- 
pleted the circuit of the globe — until they have pro- 
claimed the Saviour and his kingdom to the ends of 
the earth, and all nations, enlightened and Christian- 
ized, fall down and worship him, and call him blessed. 
Thus and then the millennium will be introduced ; the 
stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, become 
a great mountain, and fill the whole earth ; the king- 
doms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord 
and of his Christ; the dwellers on the earth be all 
righteous. Then will 

" One song employ all nations ; and all cry, 
Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us ! 
The dwellers in the vales and on the rock 
Shout to each other, and the mountain tops 
From distant mountains catch the flying joy; 
And nation after nation taught the strain, 
Earth roll the rapturous hosanna round." 

Then will have been heard and fully answered by 
God the beautiful prayer of David, the sweet singer of 
Israel, as recorded in the sixty-seventh psalm, which 
teaches the conversion of the Jewish nation, and 
through them and their instrumentality the conversion 
of the world. For then will " God have been merciful 
to the Jewish nation, and blessed them, and caused his 
face to shine upon them ; then will his way be kno wn 
upon the earth, and his saving health among all 
nations ; then shall the nations be glad and sing for 
joy ; then shall he judge the people righteously and 



100 



Messiah's kingdom. 



govern the nations upon earth. Then shall the people 
praise Him ; all the people praise Him. Then shall 
the earth yield her increase, and Israel's God shall 
bless them. God shall bless them ; and all the ends 
of the earth shall fear Him." When this glorious con- 
summation, the conversion of the world, by the con- 
version and instrumentality of converted Israel, has 
been accomplished, " then there shall be one King and 
one Lord, and his name one over all the earth." Then 
shall the Son of the highest sitting universal King 
upon the rebuilt throne of his father David, reign over 
and bless the house of Jacob, which is the head of the 
Israelitish nation, and is here used to denote the 
whole of that " peculiar people," and through Jacob 
or his seed, which in number are to be like unto the 
stars of heaven or the sand upon the sea shore, reign 
over and bless ail the families of the earth. The 
extent then of the kingdom or territorial domain over 
which Christ, when He sits upon his promised, his 
covenanted throne, will be not only the Land of Judea, 
but the whole habitable globe. 

Such is the precious and enrapturing truth clearly 
taught by all the holy men of God, who spake as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost, when that kingdom by 
divine revelation was presented to their view, and they 
described its surpassing glory and vast extent. They 
represent it as not merely the land of covenant, the 
land of Canaan — though that is strictly and peculiarly 
the kingdom, the land specially to be occupied by 



Messiah's kingdom. 



101 



Israel and Israel's Prince ; but, they represent the 
kingdom, as we have already seen, as extending beyond 
that territory, emphatically designated " Immanuel's 
land/' and comprehending the whole earth ; they repre- 
sent Him as a King with whom no one divides any of 
earth's territory ; but who occupies it all as his own. 
Satan thoroughly dispossessed, He alone, with his 
divine holy sceptre, rules over every continent, every 
island. There is not one spot from pole to pole, from 
the remote east to the farthest west, but forms a part of 
His kingdom and is under his immediate government. 
And hence David said, when speaking of the great 
dominion or kingdom of his Son, 11 He shall reign from 
sea to sea ; from the river unto the ends of the earth. 
All kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall 
serve him. His name shall endure for ever. His name 
shall continue as long as the sun ; and men shall be 
blessed in him ; all nations shall call him blessed. And 
blessed be his glorious name for ever ; and let the whole 
earth be filled with his glory." Isaiah sang, chap. ix. 
6, 7, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder ; and 
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
Mighty God, The Father of the everlasting age, The 
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government 
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to esta- 
blish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth 
even for ever." Daniel said, " I saw in the night visions, 



102 



Messiah's kingdom. 



and behold one like the Son of man came with the 
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and 
they brought him near before him. And there vras 
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages, should serve him ! And 
the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the 
people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom 
is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve 
and obey him." Zachariah said, " And the Lord shall 
be king over all the earth ; in that day shall there be 
one Lord, and his name one." When the seventh 
apocalyptic angel sounded, John heard great voices in 
heaven saying, " The kingdoms of this world are become 
the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ ; and he shall 
reign for ever and ever. 77 

According, then, to the clear and uniform teaching of 
the holy Scriptures, the kingdom over which Christ in 
person is to reign, when he shall sit upon the throne of 
his father David, and reign over the house of Jacob, is 
the whole earth. He is not merely to reign over the 
land of Judea, peculiarly His land, destined according 
to prophecy to be greatly enlarged at the return of the 
Jews, but over this entire globe. The earth itself and 
nothing less shall be his kingdom. Satan, who has been 
so long the prince of the power of the air, and exercised* 
his authority with such despotic sway, shall be dispos- 
sessed of his power by Jesus the prince of peace, who 
shall then be sovereign in the region in which, for nigh 



Messiah's kingdom. 



103 



six thousand years, lie lias been planning and working 
out his purposes of wickedness with such dreadful influ- 
ence upon the children of men. He who has been so 
long the God of this world ; and has kept millions of 
our race in soul-enthralling, soul-destroying bondage to 
himself, shall be divested of all his honour and influence 
when the strong angel comes down from heaven, binds 
him, casts him into the bottomless pit, or abyss, shuts 
him up and sets a seal upon him. Then shall his king- 
dom be completely taken from him — not one inch of 
this earth's surface will belong to him — in not one 
locality of the earth will his power be acknowledged 
or obeyed. The place where he has so long reigned, 
and perpetrated such awful deeds of wickedness and cru- 
elty — seduced and destroyed the souls of men — moved 
them to crucify the Lord of Glory, and rob the Most 
High of the honour righteously belonging to him, shall 
become solely the dominion of the King of Glory, and 
the Government being exclusively upon his shoulder, 
his sceptre of righteousness and peace shall be swayed 
over the whole of this earth, redeemed from vanity and 
the curse. " He shall reign from sea to sea, from the 
river unto the ends of the earth, " The groaning and 
painful travail of the whole creation shall cease ; and 
instead of the wail of agony, long, loud, and piercing, 
which has everywhere gone up in unutterable sorrow, 
shall ascend the song of unmingled joy — of heartfelt 
peace and blessedness, to him who sitteth as rightful 
Lord upon the throne of his own redeemed creation. 



104 



Messiah's kingdom. 



For thus saith he, who shall have the crown upon his 
head and the sceptre in his hand, " from the rising of 
the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my 
name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in every 
place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure 
offering." Mai. i. 11. 

And let it not be forgotten that this vast kingdom of 
peace, righteousness, and blessedness, including the 
whole earth, over which the Son of the Highest, seated 
upon the throne of his father David is to reign, is a 
literal kingdom, a kingdom, as we have seen, upon earth 
renewed. The literality and universality of it are both 
clearly set forth in Daniel. The monarchies symbo- 
lized by Nebuchadnezzar's great image, the Chaldean, 
the Persian, the Grecian, and Roman, were literal 
monarchies, and had a literal existence upon the earth, 
and clearly defined boundaries . The Medo-Persian van- 
quished the Babylonian, the Grecian vanquished the 
Medo-Persian, and the Roman vanquished the Grecian. 
The Roman Empire is now existing in its divided state 
— in the ten kingdoms symbolized by the ten toes, and 
trembling before the onward progress of the mighty 
overturning movements, which under the guiding hand 
of God will crush them to the dust, overthrow their 
thrones, and scatter their sceptres as worthless things. 
Now as all these were literal kingdoms, including a 
certain territory or definite portion of the earth, so also 
must the fifth monarchy, or Christ's kingdom, almost 
everywhere spoken against, be a literal kingdom 



Messiah's kingdom. 



105 



including, as we have seen, a certain extent. And this 
is most clearly taught by Daniel, both in his descrip- 
tion and explanation of Nebuchadnezzar's great image. 
" The stone cut out of the mountain without hands," 
symbolizes the fifth monarchy or kingdom, which is 
Christ's, which " the God of heaven will set up/' evi- 
dently upon the earth, utterly destroys the remnants of 
its power, and takes possession of that very territory 
for itself. For the stone that smites the image, or 
rather the toes of the image, becomes a great mountain, 
and fills not only the territory of these monarchies, but 
rolls on in its irresistible growing greatness, till it 
fills the whole earth — takes possession of the habitable 
globe, extending from sea to sea, "from the river unto 
the ends of the earth." Over this divine kingdom 
peculiarly, emphatically the Lord's, embracing all king- 
doms under the whole heavens — the earth itself Mes- 
siah's kingdom, the cry shall be heard from every place 
uttered by every tongue, " The Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth." 

44 Zion's King shall reign victorious, 
All the earth shall own his sway ; 
He will make the kingdom glorious, 
He shall reign through endless day. 

44 Nations, now from God estranged, : 
Then shall see a glorious light; 
Night to day shall then be changed, 
Heaven shall triumph in the sight. 

5* 



106 



Messiah's kingdom. 



" See the ancient idols falling, 

Worshipped once but now abhorred, 
Men on Zion's King are calling, 
Zion's King by all adored. 

" Then shall Israel long dispersed, 
Mourning seek their Lord and God. 
Look on him whom once they pierced, 
Own and kiss the chastening rod. 

" Then shall Israel all be saved, 

War jand tumult then shall cease, 
While the greater Son of David 
Rules a conquered world in peace." 

Such, then, according to the sure word of prophecy 
is the extent of the kingdom "which shall be given unto 
Jesus, when the Son of the Highest shall sit upon the 
throne of his father David ; such shall constitute the 
kingdom of God upon earth — the millennial blessed- 
ness — the glory of the latter days. Was there ever a 
kingdom like this, knowing no bounds but the habit- 
able globe ; knowing no king but the Lord Jesus 
Christ ; having no throne but the rebuilt throne of 
David ; no government but the pure and holy author- 
ity of Immanuel ; submitting to no sceptre but his — 
his will being done on earth as in heaven ! " The 
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ." " Glory dwells in the 
land. Mercy and truth have met together ; righteous- 
ness and peace kiss each other. Truth springs out of 



MESSIAH S KINGDOM. 



107 



the earth renewed, and righteousness looks down from 
heaven. Yea, the Lord gives that which is good, and 
the land yields her increase.' 7 11 All people fall down 
before him, and all nations call him blessed." 

" Haste then, and wheel away a shattered world, 
Ye slow revolving seasons ! we would see 
(A sight to which our eyes are strangers yet) 
A world that does not dread and hate his laws, 
And suffer for its crime ; would learn how fair 
The creature is that God pronounces good, 
And pleasant in itself what pleases Him." 

What kingdom in glory and blessedness is once to 
be compared to this kingdom — the kingdom of the 
Lord Jesus Christ? It stands without a rival, with- 
out a compeer ; alone — matchless in glory and blessed- 
ness. The king is there, and his presence is felt 
throughout its vast domains, inspiring all with a holy, 
boundless joy. His children are there ; his redeemed 
ones — all purified from the pollution of sin ; all arrayed 
in linen clean and white, the righteousness of saints — 
all radiant as the sun — all rapturous in joy. Who 
longs not to inherit this kingdom? What heart burns 
not with most intense desire to be the heir of this king- 
dom ? Surely not yours, reader ! If you can realize 
the glory and blessedness of this kingdom, like the thief 
on the cross when his eyes were opened to the divine 
scene, there will be but one all-absorbing desire in your 
bosom, and that will be for Christ to remember you, 



108 



Messiah's kingdom. 



and take you into this kingdom at His coming. For 
that you will pray without ceasing ; for that you will 
renounce the world ; for that you will crucify the flesh 
with its affections and lusts ; for that you will be wil- 
ling to forsake all the dear and beloved ones on earth ; 
for that you will be willing to lay down your life. 
Any thing and every thing to attain this kingdom — to 
be an heir of this kingdom, " tha inheritance of Christ 
and of the saints in light. 7 ' Ah ! yes ; to attain this 
the most precious inheritance, the most glorious and 
blessed of all habitations, you will ever be examining 
your own heart to see if there is any good evidence of 
obtaining the kingdom. You will be scrutinizing your 
affections to see if they are really set upon the kingdom 
of Messiah ; and you will not rest till you have the 
satisfactory evidence of God's Spirit within you, that 
with Christ Jesus you are an heir of all things, and 
consequently an heir of his kingdom. 

If you are a believer in Jesus, then you can be look- 
ing forward to the inheritance of that kingdom with 
the most rapturous emotions and thrilling joy, for that 
kingdom is yours by covenant and promise, and will 
soon be yours by actual possession. You will soon 
move among its shining inhabitants, glorious as they ; 
you will soon be a participant of its supreme and ever- 
lasting blessedness. The short-lived sorrows of time 
need not distress you here; like the morning cloud 
these will soon pass away, and be succeeded by " the 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory," and joy in the 



MESSIAH S KINGDOM. 



109 



kingdom. Sink not under the griefs of the present 
night of weeping, for through its darkest gloom and 
deepest distress some comforting beams of the cloud- 
less joy-light of the coming Kingdom are struggling ; 
and endless joy cometh in the morning of the eternal 
day — the morning of the ushering in of the kingdom. 
There remaineth a rest for the people of God and that 
rest will be yours. " With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
you shall sit down in the kingdom." 

But if you are not a believer in Christ — what then ? 
Solemn, awful thought ; you cannot be admitted into 
the kingdom. Ah! no, you cannot. You must and 
will be excluded unless you believe. Christ is invit- 
ing you by his word, urging you by his obedience, suf- 
fering, and death to believe in him, and enter into 
his kingdom of matchless, boundless glory and blessed- 
ness. If you believe you shall be admitted ; if you 
remain in unbelief, true indeed a kingdom shall be yours ; 
but it will be the kingdom of misery, and darkness, 
and eternal death. You may not now realize what 
will be the awfulness of your situation then ; and 
when you actually feel it, it will be too late to change 
it. Are you willing to be consigned to the kingdom 
of eternal misery, darkness, and death ? Surely you 
cannot be ! Your soul must shudder at such a thought, 
and shrink with unutterable horror from such a doom. 
If this be so, then hasten to Jesus the almighty Saviour 
— believe in him that you may be saved, and welcomed 
with the multitude of redeemed into " the kingdom of 
God and his dear Son/ 7 



110 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



CHAPTER lit 

THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

"He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; And of his 
kingdom there shall be no end." — Luke i. 33. 

We have seen by the clear light of prophecy, that 
Jesus Christ is to sit upon the throne of his father 
David. That throne once occupied by David in Jeru- 
salem, which for thousands of years has been, and still 
is in ruins, is destined by God's unchangeable oracle to 
be rebuilt and occupied by the raised up humanity of 
the Son of the virgin — by the Man-God, Christ Jesus. 
That throne is to be erected upon earth, and occupied 
by the Lord the King for ever. " The Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne of his father David." As 
David literally occupied a throne upon the earth, so 
shall the Son of the virgin, the Son of the Highest, 
literally occupy that throne rebuilt ; for the sure word 
of prophecy repeatedly declares, he shall sit upon the 
throne of his father David. 

"When He ascends that throne, he is to reign over 
the house of Jacob. The house of Jacob, we have seen, 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



Ill 



is used to denote all the believing descendants of 
Jacob — of Abraham, and that when Christ returns to 
earth to occupy that throne, all the believing seed of 
Abraham slumbering in their graves shall be raised, and 
all his living seed shall be converted and brought 
from the four winds of heaven into their own land, the 
land of Israel, which is the land of covenant and 
promise. Exalted to the throne of his own peculiar 
kingdom, and reigning over that, his own land, his 
brethren according to the flesh converted, and re- 
baptized with more than a double portion of the mis- 
sionary spirit — Satan, the great author of evil and 
adversary of men, cast into the bottomless pit, they 
go forth everywhere, preaching the gospel, and all 
who hear believe, till all nations are converted, and 
"the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ." 

Having seen Messiah exalted to his royal throne, 
and reigning over " the kingdoms and the greatness of 
the kingdoms under the whole heavens, ;; we come now 
to consider the duration of that reign upon the earth, 
which the angel Gabriel describes in these words to 
his mother, " He shall reign over the house of Jacob 
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." 
If we rightly understand the teachings of scripture 
that reign upon and over the earth will be eternal. 
Be not surprised at this announcement, but hear 
patiently and candidly the teachings of scripture, and 
if they furnish not conclusive evidence, that Christ 



112 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

seated upon the throne of his father David, shall reign 
over the house of Jacob for ever, upon this earth re- 
newed, it is your duty to reject such a doctrine ; but if 
they do teach, that in person he shall reign for ever upon 
this earth, then by heaven's authority you are bound 
to believe it. And the moment ycu see it with heavenly 
unsealed eyes you will believe, and you will rejoice in 
believing it, with an ecstacy of joy such as has never 
thrilled through your bosom. 

The earth renewed, we say, is to be the place or 
scene of Christ's eternal reign with his redeemed and 
glorified people. In order to prove this doctrine, it is 
manifestly necessary at the very outset, to prove that 
the earth must exist for ever. And the evidence to 
prove the everlasting duration of the earth must be 
deduced from the word of God ; and some of its teach- 
ings upon this subject shall now be examined. 

In Psalm xciii. 1, it is thus written, " The Lord 
reigneth, he is clothed with majesty ; the Lord is 
clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded him- 
self : the world also is established that it cannot be 
moved," or rather as it is in the original, " yea, he hath 
established the world that it shall not be moved." If 
according to this language the world is established 
that it cannot, or shall not be moved, then beyond all 
controversy, it is destined to endure for ever ; its 
eternal existence is secured. If it shall not be moved 
it must remain, and remaining, continue to remain ; 
and hence its everlasting duration is declared in the 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 113 



strongest language. If this is not what this psalm 
teaches, it is difficult to know what it does teach. It re- 
presents the Lord Jehovah as the king reigning over this 
earth, and to show that his reign and kingdom shall 
never have an end, it is declared that the world shall not 
be moved. But if the world is destroyed, if it is anni- 
hilated, then it is moved, it is more than moved ; it ceases 
to exist, and the solemn declaration of this psalm is falsi- 
fied ; the Lord doth not reign over it, neither is he cloth- 
ed with Jehovah strength for its glorious government. 

The eternal duration of the earth is also clearly and 
positively taught in Psalm civ. 5 : " The Lord laid the 
foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed 
for ever/' or as it might have been rendered, " He hath 
founded the earth upon its settlements, that it should 
not be moved for ever, even for ever.'' Ponder that 
declaration ; for surely if language can express eternal 
duration, this language expresses it, this describes it, 
and consequently declares the eternal duration of the 
earth. If it shall not be moved for ever, even for ever, 
then it evidently abides and that for ever. There is no 
destruction, no reduction to nonentity awaiting it 
There is, there can be no other conclusion. To deny 
this, would be to deny one of the plainest and strongest 
declarations of holy writ ; and to attempt to explain it 
away, would be like endeavouring to prove that it is 
midnight darkness, when the blazing beams of the 
meridian sun are blinding the eyes with their excessive 
brightness. It will not do to say, that all that this 



114 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

language means, simply is, that it is established till the 
end of its creation be fulfilled : that is 3 till a definite 
number of generations of mankind have existed as they 
now exist. The language implies no condition of this 
kind. It is absolute. Neither can any man prove, 
that at any given point of the progression of our race 
the earth will have fulfilled the end of its creation. 
On the contrary, we contend that it never will have ful- 
filled the eird of its creation — that it will be no longer 
useful, and therefore shall cease to exist ; for God 
positively and solemnly declares, he will use it for ever, 
as we shall see more fully by and by. 

The same doctrine is taught with equal perspicuity 
and force by the wise man, Ecc. i. 4, when he says, 
" One generation passeth away and another generation 
cometh, but the earth abideth for ever." Here a suc- 
cession of generations is declared. No generation 
abides : one goes and another comes, only to go in like 
manner. Transition, end, are declared concerning 
each one of them ; but it is not so with the earth ; it 
passeth not away : it has no end ; it abides for ever. 
And its ever enduring existence is one of the grand 
truths, if not the grand truth taught in the passage. The 
passing generations of men, and the ever abiding earth 
are placed in striking contrast ; and this is done by 
the infinite wisdom of God, not so much to impress us 
with the transitoriness of the generations of men, as 
the ever abiding, the eternal duration of the earth. 

The perpetuity of the earth is also taught by Paul in 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



115 



Heb. i. 10-12, " And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast 
laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are 
the works of thine hands : they shall perish, but thou 
remainest ; and they all shall wax old as doth a gar- 
ment : and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and 
they shall be changed ; but thou art the same, and thy 
yearsshall not fail." Some may suppose that in this 
passage, they see the destruction, the annihilation of 
the heavens and the earth clearly taught, when it is 
here said they shall perish. But the word here 
rendered perish, does not mean destruction or annihila- 
tion, in any instance where it occurs in the New Testa- 
ment, but to send away, to release, to set at liberty, to 
dismiss. It occurs about seventy times, and has in 
every instance some of these shades of meaning, and 
might have been almost uniformly translated, release, 
and might with propriety have been so translated in 
this passage ; " They shall be released." This would 
be in perfect accordance with the passage, for the 
Apostle does not affirm that they shall perish or be 
destroyed ; but that they shall be changed. The word 
rendered changed, does not mean annihilated, but 
changed, altered, or transformed. If by perish he had 
meant that they shall be annihilated, he would certainly 
not have been so self-contradictory as to say in the 
same sentence they shall be changed, altered, or trans- 
formed. The change shall not be, as is evident from 
this and many passages of Scripture, unto perdition, or 
utter destruction, but to perfect restitution. They 



116 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



shall be loosed, or released from the effects of sin— 
from the curse, and changed or transformed to perfect 
holiness : and then, in this changed, transformed, re- 
newed, or restituted condition, according to the immuta- 
ble teachings of God's word, they shall abide or endure 
for ever. And this change is produced that the earth, 
destined to exist for ever, may exist in perfection and 
glory. And Paul, in the preceding verses of this 
chapter, clearly teaches in his quotations, that this 
changed or renewed earth shall be the locality of the 
Son's throne which is for ever and ever ; and the king- 
dom over which his sceptre of righteousness shall be 
eternally swayed, and this unquestionably implies and 
teaches the eternal existence of the earth. 

The teaching of Peter in his second epistle, chap. iii. 
10-13, proves the same doctrine ; " But the day of the 
Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the which 
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and 
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth 
also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. 
Seeing then, that all these things shall be dissolved, 
what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy 
conversation and godliness : looking for, and hastening 
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the 
heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat, nevertheless we, 
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 

Though this passage may seemingly teach the de- 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 117 



struction or annihilation of the earth, yet it does not in 
verity teach this gloomy doctrine, but the very reverse. 
The expression " burnt up," has led some to suppose 
and believe, that this earth will be utterly consumed, 
destroyed, or annihilated by fire or burning. The lan- 
guage here used, " burnt up," seems to involve such an 
idea. It seems to imply utterly consumed, but the 
Greek word does not convey this idea. It is com- 
pounded of the verb x*/« to burn, and the preposition 
xaTflj, which signifies down, down upon, from above. 
The literal translation then of this word is not " burnt 
up" but burnt down upon, burnt from above. The 
passage would then read thus, " the earth and the works 
that are therein shall be burnt from above." That is to 
say, the fire will be kindled upon the earth from above. 
The atmosphere, after God Almighty has produced cer- 
tain changes upon it, which it is not necessary here to 
explain, will be set on fire first, and the burning atmo- 
sphere will set fire to the earth and the works that are 
thereon. As the atmosphere is everywhere above the 
earth, and as that has to set fire to the earth, the earth 
will be burnt down upon, or burnt from above. 

This then contains nothing of the idea of burning to 
destruction, of burning to annihilation. It teaches the 
doctrine that the earth shall be subjected to the action 
of fire, but it also teaches that the result of that action 
will not be the utter consuming of this earth from among 
the works of God ; its utter extinction from the things 
which declare his eternal power and Godhead. This 



118 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

Peter proves by unanswerable argument. When the 
Old world was overflowed with water and perished, the 
earth was not reduced to nonentity — the earth continued 
to exist. If then the water did not annihilate the earth, 
and we know and are witnesses this day it did not, for it 
sprang in undiminished materiality from the assuaging 
waters ; neither will the fire or burning which awaits 
it. This is Peter's very argument. As the earth sur- 
vived the action of the water, so will it survive the 
action of the fire ; and consequently despite of this 
burning, which will produce great, and important, and 
glorious changes upon it, he says, "nevertheless we, 
according to his promise/' that is the promise of God 
uttered by Isaiah, " look for a new heaven and a new 
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 

This then settles the point, that the earth shall not 
be burnt up — shall not, like " the baseless fabric of a 
vision pass away," shall not be annihilated, or cease to 
exist among the works of God. After the burning it 
shall continue to occupy its place. It shall retain its 
form and local identity. Sinai, and Olivet, and Cal- 
vary, and Zion, where the great king is to sit and reign 
in glory ; and Jordan too, in whose refreshing waters 
Messiah, in the days of his humiliation, often bathed 
his weary feet ; and the river of Egypt, and the great 
river, the river Euphrates, will all remain after the con- 
flagration, and be better known and more frequently 
visited than they are now. The burning of the hea- 
vens, or atmosphere, and the earth, is not then a burn- 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 



119 



ing unto destruction, but a burning unto purification. 
And when these have been thus purified, then out of 
these so purified elements will come the new heavens 
and the new earth. As the earth of old emerged in 
renovated freshness from the subsiding of the deluge, 
so the new heavens and the new earth, all purified, all 
perfect, all glorious, all smiling and sparkling in the 
holiness of their great Redeemer, will emerge, amidst 
the shouts of angels, the songs of the morning stars, the 
hallelujahs of the redeemed, from the subsiding or expir- 
ing flames of the conflagration. 

And if this earth is once made new, and made new, 
too, for the dwelling-place of righteousness ; that is for 
God's righteous people made righteous by the imputa- 
tion of Christ's righteousness, and for Jehovah their 
righteousness, as the apostle manifestly asserts: then 
surely there can be no motive, no reason for its destruc- 
tion or annihilation ; but its own perfection and holi- 
ness ; and it being the dwelling-place of the Lord's 
holy and righteous people, and of the Lord our right- 
eousness himself, are all sufficient reasons to save it 
from destruction, and prolong its existence for ever 
and ever. 

Xow it is manifest that these passages do not teach 
the utter destruction or annihilation of the earth ; but 
only that it is destined to be the subject of certain 
great and important changes. These changes, instead 
of deteriorating it, will result in the great and glorious 
improvement for which the whole creation is now 



120 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM, 

groaning and travailing in pain together. They will 
purify it from the effects of sin, and restore it to a con- 
dition in which it will again be very good in the sight 
of God, and fitted to endure eternally in its goodness 
before him. And if these passages do not teach the 
utter destruction of the earth, its annihilation from 
among the vast and glorious works of God, but on the 
contrary its perpetuity, its evei lasting existence ; then 
it may be safely contended that there is not one passage 
in the Bible that teaches or even hints the gloomy doc- 
trine, that this earth shall be finally destroyed ; that it 
shall be burnt up, and its very ashes consumed, so that 
nothing of it shall remain. 

But the Bible abounds with passages teaching directly 
and indirectly the eternal existence of the earth. They 
pervade it from beginning to end. Were they care- 
fully collected they would form a vast number, and time 
would fail to examine minutely such a great cloud of 
witnesses and closely scrutinize their testimony, which 
would be found various in kind, yet perfectly in unison, 
as regards the grand point to be established— all tes- 
tifying with united voice, " the earth which God has 
given to the sons of men and his own Son as their king, 
yet destined to rejoice with him in its habitable parts 
shall endure for ever and ever" Satisfied with this 
brief proof of the earth's eternal existence, we shall next 
consider, shortly, what evidence there is of Christ 
reigning eternally with his glorified saints upon this 
ever enduring earth. 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 121 



The personal return of Christ to earth is a doctrine 
clearly and certainly taught, and very frequently re- 
ferred to in Scripture. Enoch the seventh from Adam 
taught this doctrine in his beautiful evangelical sermon 
preached to the early inhabitants of the earth. " Behold 
the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to exe- 
cute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are 
ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which 
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against 
them." Moses, and all the prophets, and David in the 
psalms are ever and anon teaching the glorious doctrine 
of the Lord's second advent, and with ineffable delight 
expatiating upon it Of this the whole of the ninety- 
sixth psalm is a beautiful example, though we quote 
only the three concluding verses. M Let the heavens 
rejoice, and let the earth be glad ; let the sea roar, and 
the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that 
is therein ; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 
before the Lord : for he cometh, for he cometh to judge 
the earth : he shall judge the world with righteousness, 
and the people with his truth." The Lord himself is 
continually teaching, and referring to his personal 
return to earth — ever reminding his disciples that they 
44 shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of 
heaven with power and great glory." The apostle 
makes very frequent mention of the same event, and 
holds up in some way or other to the minds of the indi- 
viduals whom they addressed " that blessed hope, and 

6 



122 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ/ 7 And this doctrine is so held up because 
of its great, precious, comforting, and sanctifying 
influence. 

And if Christ's return to earth is so frequently and 
clearly taught, it is fearlessly contended, that after he 
has come it is nowhere taught that he will leave this 
earth. That passage so frequently referred to, by no 
means makes out the point or even touches it. 1 Thess. 
iv. 17 : " Then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the 
Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the 
Lord.' 7 Caught up, for what purpose ? To meet the 
Lord. And what then ? Accompany him back to para- 
dise whence he came, or some other orb in creation ? 
No. He is on his way to earth to judgment and they 
are caught up to meet him, not that they may depart 
from the earth, but that they may accompany him to 
this earth, and to the great work of judgment before 
him. This, too, takes place before the judgment, and 
consequently does not prove that Christ and his people 
shall leave this earth after the judgment, but that the 
saints shall be caught up to meet him coming to the 
judgment, and upon meeting him shall return and 
accompany him to earth and judgment. The would-be- 
eloquent pulpit rhetorical flourishes then of his leaving 
this earth with all his saints after the judgment, and 
carrying them with him, no man knows whither, are 
not based upon the teachings of God's word, but ori- 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 123 



ginate in the erring imaginations of man. When he 
comes to earth he comes as judge : he comes as its 
restitutor — as its creator anew — he comes as its ever- 
abiding and reigning king. 

That Christ will reign for ever upon the earth is 
clearly implied, if not distinctly taught in the covenant 
made with Abraham. In that covenant God said to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, " to thee and to thy seed 
will I give this land for an everlasting possession." 
Now if Abraham and his seed are to inherit that land 
for ever, as the covenant most clearly declares — if they 
are to be brought up out of their graves, and from all 
countries, whither God in his anger has driven them, 
as the Holy Ghost teaches, that they may dwell in their 
own land, the land of Israel for ever ; then must Christ 
their king reign over them in the earth for ever. " He 
shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his 
kingdom there shall be no end. ?; 

The perpetuity of Messiah's kingdom and personal 
reign upon the earth, are as clearly and positively 
taught as language can teach them. David sang, Ps. 
lxxii. 17, "His name shall endure for ever : his name 
shall be continued as long as the sun ; and all men 
shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him 
blessed." It is admitted by all that this psalm is 
descriptive of Messiah's glorious reign and kingdom 
upon earth, and if so then these words assert their per- 
petuity — " His name shall endure for ever." This lan- 
guage is expressive of interminable duration ; aiod if 



124 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



his name has to endure for ever, then so long has he to 
reign upon the earth ; for the duration of his name is 
spoken of in connexion with his reign ; and conse- 
quently his reign must be coeval with the duration of 
his name. His name here is synonymous with his 
reign ; and when it is said his name shall endure for 
ever, it means that his reign and kingdom shall endure 
for ever. During the continuance of his name and his 
coeval reign, all men are to be blessed in him, and 
during that endless reign all the nations of the earth 
are to call Him blessed. But if the reign here spoken 
of be not eternal then the blessings to be bestowed 
upon the nations of the earth through it, will not by 
them be eternally enjoyed. When the reign termi- 
nates, the blessings, of course, which it bestows will also 
terminate ; and after enjoying these for so long they 
will ultimately be deprived of them. But during this 
reign, too, the nations of the earth are to call Messiah 
blqssed, and if it come to an end so will these ascrip- 
tions of praise to Him from the nations come to an end. 
But God has provided against such gloomy results as 
these, and for eternal blessings from the great king 
during his endless reign to his people, and for their 
ceaseless ascriptions of praise in return to Him ; for he 
said, " I will make thy name to be remembered in all 
generations ; therefore shall the people praise thee for 
ever and ever." 

Ps. xcvi. 10 : " Say among the heathen," or Gentiles, 
" the Lord reigneth j the world also shall be established, 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 125 



that it cannot be moved ; lie shall judge the people 
righteously/ 7 This forms a part of another of these 
triumphal odes, celebrating Christ's kingly rule upon 
the earth, and teaching clearly the everlasting duration 
of that reign. When it is once introduced it will be 
perpetual, for the earth is established for ever that it 
may be perpetual ; and that during that endless reign 
he may judge the people righteously. " Thy throne, 
0 God, is for ever and ever ; the sceptre of thy king- 
dom is a right sceptre." " My mercy will I keep for 
him for ever more, and my covenant shall stand fast 
with him. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, 
and his throne as the days of heaven." " Once have I 
sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David," 
or the Beloved. " His seed shall endure for ever, and 
his throne as the sun before me" " Thy kingdom is 
an everlasting kingdom ; and thy dominion endureth 
throughout all generations " " The Lord shall reign for 
ever, even thy God, 0 Zion, unto all generations." 

Surely language could not be constructed more 
clearly expressing perpetuity — eternal duration, than 
that of the passages just quoted. But these passages 
describe the duration of Christ's reign and government 
upon earth ; consequently that reign and government 
must be eternal. And it is beyond all controversy 
their very object to teach this doctrine. It is vain to 
attempt to limit the meaning of these passages by saying 
that they only express a long period of time, and when 
this earth comes to an end so will that reign ; for we 



126 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



have already proved that the earth, after having under- 
gone certain changes, will endure for ever. 

Isaiah clearly teaches the perpetuity of Messiah's 
reign in these words, chap. ix. 6, 7 : " For unto us a 
child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the 
everlasting Father," or the Fa^hei of the everlasting 
age, " the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his govern- 
ment and "peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to esta- 
blish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth 
even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of [Hosts will per- 
form this." In this passage Jesus Christ, the Messiah 
is called the Father of the everlasting age, for so the 
clause ought to be rendered. And the age here spoken 
of, in the very nature of things, must be future, the age 
of His government when he introduces His kingdom, 
and sits down upon the throne of His father David. 
That age of kingly government and rule, which he will 
then introduce, and of which he will be the father, is 
declared to be everlasting. And to exclude the very 
possibility of doubt on this very important point, it is 
affirmed, that of the increase of His government and 
peace there shall be no end, and if of them no end, then 
surely they shall last for ever. Nor is this all, but to 
make it yet more certain that His reign shall be upon 
the earth and eternal, it is added, " upon," that is, He 
shall sit and reign " upon the throne of his father David 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 127 

and upon His kingdom to order it, and to establish it 
with judgment and with justice from henceforth even 
for ever.' 7 

" Behold the clays come, saith the Lord, that I will 
perform that good thing which I promised to the house 
of Israel, and to the house of Judah. In those days 
and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteous- 
ness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days 
shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely ; 
and this is the name whereby he shall be called, The 
Lord our Righteousness. For thus saith the Lord, 
David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of 
the house of Israel. " Jer. xxxiii. 11-18 : " Say unto 
them, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the 
children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they 
be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring 
them into their own land ; and I will make them one 
nation in the land upon the mountain of Israel ; and 
one KING- shall be king to them all ; and they shall 
be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided 
into two kingdoms any more at all ; neither shall they 
defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with 
their detestable things, nor with any of their trans- 
gressions ; but I will save them out of all their dwell- 
ing-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse 
them ; so shall they be my people, and I will be their 
God. And David/ 7 or the Beloved, " my servant shall 
be king over them all ; and they all shall have one 



128 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



shepherd ; they shall also walk in my judgments and 
observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall 
dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my ser- 
vant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; and they shall 
dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their 
children's children for ever ; and my servant David, or 
BELOVED, shall be their prince for ever. Moreover, 
I will make a covenant of peace with them ; it shall be 
an everlasting covenant with them ; and I will place 
them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in 
the midst of them for evermore" " My tabernacle also 
shall be with them ; yea I will be their God and they 
shall be my people. And the heathen, Gentiles, shall 
know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my 
sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore" 
Ezek. xxxvii. 21-28. 

Daniel contemplating the same glorious and enrap- 
turing scene said, chap. i. 44, " And in the days of 
these kings ; that is in the days of the last kings or 
at the close of the remnant of the Roman dynasty, 
" shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall 
never be destroyed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to 
other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume 
all these kingdoms, and shall stand for ever" 

The kingdom which the God of heaven shall set up 
in the days of the last kings of the Roman dynasties or 
ten kingdoms, is doubtless Messiah's kingdom ; for it 
cannot be supposed that the God of heaven would set 
up any other. Besides, the description of the kingdom 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 129 



perfectly accords with that everywhere given of Mes- 
siah's kingdom. It is to the destruction of the ten 
kingdoms he is to come, and at that time introduce 
and set up Messiah's kingdom ; and that kingdom is 
here declared to be a kingdom that shall never be 
destroyed. And if it is never to be destroyed, surely in 
its utter exemption, or divine protection from destruc- 
tion, it must and will exist for ever. If this is not the 
meaning of Daniel's language, it may well be asked 
what does it mean ? Does it mean not eternal but 
limited duration ? If it does, how then or by what lan- 
guage shall we express endless duration ? 

But the kingdom of Messiah to be set up at that time, 
is not only a kingdom never to be destroyed but a 
kingdom that shall break in pieces, consume, or destroy 
all these kingdoms, and not only these but all others 
upon the face of the earth. No kingdom is to coexist 
with it. It is to stand alone and be universal. It is 
to be introduced by destroying others, and that work 
of destruction it will begin upon the ten Roman king- 
doms. And as it is altogether divine and holy in its 
nature, and essentially different from any existing upon 
the face of the earth, it will continue to consume the 
existing kingdoms until they are all destroyed. In its 
consuming progress it will continue to extend until it 
•sweeps away every vestige of the previous kingdoms, 
and appears in its all-pervading greatness, and takes 
possession of the whole earth from the rising of the sun 
to the going down of the same. And when it has done 

6* 



130 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



all this, when it becomes in reality, the one kingdom, 
claiming for its dominion the whole earth, and sway- 
ing its sceptre over every individual that dwells 
thereon, the prophet declares "it shall stand for ever." 
This declaration again teaches its eternal duration, and 
this truth the prophet reiterates, that it may be ob- 
served, that it may be believed. It appears that he 
was under the apprehension that men would doubt the 
doctrine, and hence he again and again asserts it. The 
kingdom of Messiah then, once established upon the earth, 
and existing alone in its divine power and perfection, 
there will be no kingdom to assail it in ruinous hostilities, 
no puissant arm to overthrow its immovable throne, 
and no mighty foot to tread in the dust, the glorious 
crown destined to flourish for ever upon its Sovereign's 
head. That kingdom existing upon a divinely redeemed 
and renewed earth, incorruptible, undefiled and that 
cannot fade away, shall, so far as the place of its exist- 
ence is concerned, be prolonged through endless ages. 
The omniscient and omnipotent God-Man being at its 
head, its affairs will be managed with infinite wisdom, 
and sustained by almighty power, and prolonged 
through " the everlasting age." Ages may roll on, but 
the time will never come, when the strength of Mes- 
siah's kingdom shall become feeble ; when in its weak- 
ness it shall give place to one of greater power, and 
when the Almighty king no longer able to maintain his 
government, shall be hurled helpless from his throne, 
and the kingdom purchased by his own blood and 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 131 



established by his own power shall be overthrown, 
pass away and be among the things that were ; for the 
lips of eternal truth have solemnly declared from the 
divine pavilion concerning this kingdom, " it shall stand 
for ever J 1 

And again, Daniel says, chap. vii. 13, 14 : "I saw in 
the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before 
him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, 
and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, 
should serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting do- 
minion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed." Daniel when 
favoured with this glorious vision was upon the earth, 
and the Ancient of days appeared there with him, or 
near to the earth. One like the Son of man coming in 
the clouds of heaven, was beyond all doubt the Lord 
Jesus Christ, returning to earth in like manner as the 
disciples saw him go. to receive his throne and king- 
dom : and when he came to the Ancient of days, he 
gave him that long promised throne and kingdom, the 
redeemed, the renewed earth, that all nations who 
dwell thereon should serve him. 

The kingdom which the Ancient of days gives to 
Messiah is represented as universal — comprehending 
all the nations that dwell on the face of the earth. 
But while his dominion is declared to be universal — 
over all people, so is it declared to be everlasting. The 



132 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



kingdom given him by the Ancient of days is not tem- 
porary in its duration, for it is affirmed that it shall not 
pass away. The dominion of every monarch who has here- 
tofore reigned in this world, has soon come to an end, 
thereby showing that his was not the rightful authority, 
and that it had to give place to another. But when 
the kingdom is given to Jesus, and the dominion is in 
his hands, it being his right to reign by divine appoint- 
ment, by royal headship, by mediatorial purchase, there 
it will for ever remain. No usurper will be able to 
dispossess the rightful King whose dominion is main- 
tained by almighty power, and consequently nothing 
will, nothing can destroy his kingdom. For the honour 
of his name, and the glory of his majesty it will stand 
in unshaken strength, in indestructible durability, and 
while the I AM lives it will continue happy in 
the bliss inspiring presence of the great King, and 
radiant in the ever streaming beams of his cloudless 
glory. " It shall not be destroyed" 

The angel Gabriel also declares, the perpetuity of 
his kingdom and reign when announcing his birth to 
his mother, when he says, " And he shall reign over 
the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there 
shall be no end." This declaration of the angel is an 
epitomized quotation of the prophets and the Psalms, 
teaching briefly in the clearest manner and the strongest 
language, the eternal reign and kingdom of Jesus 
Christ upon the earth. If this language does not teach 
this important, precious and glorious doctrine, then it 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 133 



may be safely contended, that no language can be con- 
structed that will teach it. If this language does not 
express endless duration, then there is no language in 
the Bible that does express it. And if this is not evi- 
dence that Christ's government and kingdom shall be 
eternal, then we have no evidence that anything shall 
be eternal. Doubts arise, concerning the eternal hap- 
piness of believers — the redeemed children of God, and 
there is no possibility of allaying them, for the very 
language used to describe their happiness, is used to 
describe the duration of Christ's kingdom and govern- 
ment, and if the language does not teach that he is to 
sit upon the throne of his father David, and reign over 
his kingdom yet to be upon earth for ever, neither does 
it teach that the blessedness of those whom he died to 
redeem shall be eternal. Since the same language is 
used to express the duration of Christ's kingdom and 
reign upon earth, and the duration of the happiness of 
the redeemed, they stand or fall together. 

Other passages teaching the perpetuity of Christ's 
kingdom and reign upon earth might be cited, but one 
more shall suffice, Rev. xi. 15 : when " the seventh 
angel sounded, John heard great voices in heaven, 
saying, ' The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall 
reign for ever and ever.' " Now if those who uttered 
the voices in heaven knew what they said, and spake 
the truth ; then they do ntost positively teach that the 
kingdoms of this world have to become the kingdoms 



134 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

of Jesus Christ : and that His kingdom established 
upon the overthrow of these kingdoms shall fill the 
whole earth ; for it is all the kingdoms of the earth 
that have to give place to His, and that His kingdom 
which is to overthrow and take the place of all others 
is to endure eternally : and He in his ever enduring 
kingdom is to reign for ever and ever. All this and 
nothing less than all this, the voices which John heard 
in heaven, do teach and most positively affirm. His 
kingdom once established upon the earth shall never 
be overthrown, shall never be succeeded by any other. 
It abides : it remains : it is eternal. 

That Christ then, will establish his kingdom upon 
earth, and reign for ever and ever in that kingdom, is 
a doctrine, fully, clearly taught in Scripture. When 
Christ returns to earth, he comes not . to remain for a 
short or long period : to preside over the solemnities 
of what is called the judgment day, but to abide for 
ever. "When he establishes his kingdom upon earth it 
is not to flourish in glory for a season, like ancient or 
present kingdoms, and then like them to be overthrown, 
pass away and be succeeded by another. It will be 
established upon an immovable foundation, — upon the 
principles of eternal truth and righteousness, upon 
Immanuel's omnipotent sustaining power, upon the 
inviolable covenant God made with him, " He shall see 
of the travail of his soul and be satisfied, " yea it will 
be the kingdom of the restitution of all things : — the 
new heavens and the new earth to abide before the 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 135 



Lord for ever, and consequently it shall stand for ever ; 
it shall never be destroyed." 

The most mighty and enduring kingdoms or mo- 
narchies upon earth have had their rise, glory, decline 
and fall. Where is now mighty and far renowned 
Babylon, with her encircling walls seventy-five feet 
broad, and three hundred high, with her strong brazen 
gates and the tower of Jupiter's temple lifting its head 
nigh seven hundred feet into the clouds, once the glory 
and sovereign of the world, with her proud boasting 
Nebuchadnezzar upon the throne, who laid Jerusalem 
desolate, and led God's people captive at his will ? 
Alas ! alas ! her beauty, glory, strength, — all have 
perished and passed away like a vision of the night ! 
Its rock-like fortress, its cloud-capt towers, its gold 
furnished palaces, where the proud and mighty ones of 
earth revelled, have all been swept by the besom of 
destruction, and its strength and magnificence con- 
signed to the dust : and from amidst its ruins where 
the owl and satyr undisturbed for centuries have played, 
men are now with laborious industry and thrilling 
interest digging its ornamental and inscribed stones 
from the hoary rubbish of antiquity. What have be- 
come of the far spreading Persian and Grecian king- 
doms which seemed to hold in their strength everlast- 
ing endurance ? They too, mighty and gigantic, ruling 
over many lands, have numbered their few days, and 
passed away like the morning cloud, and their brief 
existence, and utter desolation, are chronicled only on 



126 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



the page of history. And Rome, "Eternal Rome/' 
"the seven hilled city," once the undisputed mistress 
of the world, all conquering Rome, that trode with 
victorious feet over many lands, and for centuries 
walked in triumph over every dynasty against which 
she turned her ever victorious arms? What, what has 
become of that mighty city and empire? Do they 
stand, do they flourish in unsubdued power and in 
unfaded beauty still? Ah ! no : her strength is gone, 
her arms are broken, her warrior hosts slain, her 
sceptre and terror-girt crown in the dust. The blasts 
of desolation have swept over her, and under them she 
has crumbled into ruins, and been broken into pieces. 
All that now remains of her are only the shattered 
fragments ; the enfeebled kingdoms under the scripture 
designation of the ten toes. And they too, are wait- 
ing the rapidly approaching hour of their destruction. 
The commotions have begun which will become more 
terrible ; the tumults of the nations which will become 
more wild, frantic, and convulsive, till the coming of 
the Son of mai3,- — till the stone cut out of the moun- 
tain without hands, smite these, and with its all-crushing 
influence, they become small as the chaff of the summer 
thrashing-floors ; and when the terrible crushing work 
is in progress, and the arm of the Lord is made bare, 
and His mighty sword of vengeance unsheathed, for the 
destruction — for the utter annihilation of these king- 
doms that stand in opposition to him and the establish- 
ment of His all pervading, holy kingdom, the fire for 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



137 



which the heavens and the earth are now reserved will 
be kindled. These fires will burn, until they have 
burnt up the works of men, and refined this earth to 
that purity to which it is the will of God it should be 
wrought, and then it will emerge from its winding- 
sheet of flame, and from its shroud of smoke a new 
creation destined to roll in its orbit for ever. The 
new earth as after the flood, will then spread its holy 
bosom beautiful in the eye of God as in the morning 
of creation, to the genial rays of the sun : its vales 
enriched with greater fertility and covered with more 
abundant herbage and flowers ; its mountains clad in 
more abundant foliage, and it prepared another Eden, 
for the habitation of the sons of men — the redeemed 
sons of God, and the Son of God as the lord and king 
of all crowned with glory and honour at its head, upon 
this new creation He will establish a kingdom which 
shall never be moved — never destroyed : — whose power 
shall never be subdued by the usurping foe, whose 
might and stability no lapse of years shall shake, but 
which shall endure in unclouded glory and undimi- 
nished strength for ever and ever. That is the kingdom 
of which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy 
prophets since the world began — the kingdom which 
the God of heaven, the father of the everlasting age, 
. shall set up of which " there shall be no end " — " which 
shall never be destroyed." 

This everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, in which He will personally appear, will 



138 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



be introduced at the commencement of the millennium — 
at his return to earth. He comes to introduce that king- 
dom of which there shall be no end, and of which the 
millennium is the introductory age. The duration of 
that age is spoken of in scripture as a thousand years ; 
but it can scarcely be supposed that the language used, 
is to be understood literally, as denoting only a thousand 
years. If it did, then, Satan would have a far more 
extended reign upon earth than Jesus Christ. He 
would have seven thousand years' reign, and Christ 
would have only one thousand. Nor would the reign 
of Satan be superior to the reign of Christ, merely as 
regards time, but also as regards the number of sub- 
jects ; for those in the one case would certainly be far 
greater than those in the other : and thus looking at 
the duration of time, and the superior numbers over 
whom Satan had reigned, compared with the time and 
numbers over whom Christ had reigned, it would be 
difficult to see the force and truth of Paul's declaration, 
"where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. 7 ' 

But I apprehend that the thousand years, denoting 
the millennial age, is not literal, but symbolic time. 
And if this be the case, then each day of the thousand 
years will denote a year, of Jewish time, three hundred 
and sixty days, which is the prophetic year, which will 
make the duration of the millennial age not one 
thousand years, but three hundred and sixty thousand. 
This is according to the analogy of prophecy ; and 
what a long age that will be ! The human mind is 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 139 



bewildered in contemplating its duration : it is baffled 
in endeavouring to compute, or comprehend the num- 
ber of its years : its almost eternal-like duration. It 
appears long, long since the creation of the world ; 
but long as the six thousand years which have well 
nigh rolled away since the creation of the world may 
appear, what are they compared with sixty times that 
number — compared with three hundred and sixty thou- 
sand years, the duration of the millennial age. It 
stretches away, and away, becoming dimmer and dim- 
mer, amidst excessive glory, until it seems lost in the far 
remote impervious future — in the refulgent eternity. 
And looking at this lonsr, Ions: extended ao'e of Christ's 
glorious and triumphant reign ; and the vast, vast, ever 
increasing multitudes which will be his loyal and 
devout servants during that reign, the six thousand 
years during which Satan has been the god of this 
world, and the number of the disobedient in whose 
hearts he has ruled during that period dwindle into 
littleness, and the truth of Paul's declaration seems 
gloriously exhibited to view, and amply demonstrated, 
when he says. " where sin abounded grace did much 
more abound." 

During this long period Christ shall reign the undis- 
puted King over all the nations of the earth. Every- 
where his royal, merciful sceptre shall be seen, his 
imperial power manifest, and the blessedness of his 
righteous, holy government felt. '" Righteousness being 
the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdlo 



140 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



of his reins, His administration will be fraught with the 
greatest possible benefits and blessings to the subjects 
of his glorious kingdom, and all nations who dwell 
upon the earth, in the perpetual enjoyment of these, 
will call him blessed ; and daily in the gratitude and 
gladness of their hearts will they praise him. From 
morning to evening ; from year to year ; from century 
to century, yea during the long millennial age shall 
the song of praise, in mingled, melodious unison, go 
up from all the nations of the earth, like the pure 
incense of the morning, to the Holy One of Israel 
upon the throne of his father David — to the King of 
kings and the Lord of lords. Satan, the adversary, 
shut up in the bottomless pit, and prevented from 
holding men in vassalage vile ; the curse removed 
under which the whole creation has so long groaned : 
the earth and the nations of the earth, now ushered 
into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, under the 
divinly appointed King, and him whose right it is to 
reign, celebrate with rapturous joy their long foretold, 
their blissful jubilee. Nation, after nation, takes up 
the strain ; onward and onward the anthems of praise 
roll, till the untiring song of triumph is echoed round 
our all joyful globe, and poured from holy tongues in 
all its sweetness into the ear of Him, who sits upon the 
throne of David, and rules over the house of Jacob. 

Under the peace and love-inspiring sceptre of the 
king of righteousness, enmity and animosity, the off- 
spring of the devil, shall wither and die, and be cast 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 141 



out from the human bosom, and the big heart of the 
earth's converted nations shall swell and throb only 
with the divine impulses of sincere, strong love, and 
genuine friendship to each and all the individuals of 
the universally happy nations. All will see in each a 
brother, and feel a fraternal affection to that countless 
brotherhood, strong as the love which burns in the 
breast to self. Love and friendship will burn in every 
word, glow in every look, and be embodied in every 
action, and bind each to all in Messiah's own bond of 
union, and all to himself upon Israel's glorious throne. 
Dark enmity, fiendish revenge, will not move man to 
arm himself against his brother ; to plunge the murder- 
ous dagger into his heart and stain his hand with his 
precious blood. Marshalled hosts shall not be seen in 
furious mortal strife upon the battle-field ; the din of 
war shall not be heard, nor garments rolled in blood 
shock the eye ; for under Messiah's peaceful reign all 
nations shall have beaten their swords into plough- 
shares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Wars 
unto the ends of the earth have ceased ; the nations are 
at peace among themselves because the God of peace 
reigns, and by him, through the house of J acob, the earth 
enjoys its glorious jubilee. During that prolonged age 
the nations of the earth with joyful hearts shall come 
up to Jerusalem, the metropolis of this world, the city 
of the great King, to worship and adore him who sitteth 
upon Israel's throne. Heathenism driven from the earth 
by the clear shining forth of the knowledge of the 



142 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

Lord ; idolatry overthrown by the visible revelation, 
the manifest presence of the true God ; all religious 
distinctions and hostilities destroyed, and one faith 
existing in every bosom ; one profession, one practice, 
one worship observed by all ; all men of all nations 
will flock to the city of the great King, and honour him 
with a spiritual and true worship, for then will be ful- 
filled the glorious prediction, " then will I turn to the 
people a pure language that they may call upon the 
name of the Lord to serve him with one consent." 
Zeph. iii. 9. And this all nations will say with one 
mind, " Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of 
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will 
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; 
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of 
the Lord from Jerusalem. 77 Isa. ii. 3. 

" Desire of every land ! the nations come, 
And worship at His feet ; all nations come, 
Flocking like doves * * * * 
* * * * and worship reverently 
Before the Lord on Zion's holy hill." 

Israel, too, shall occupy their true position upon the 
earth and among its inhabitants. They no longer a by- 
word and reproach, but the peculiar people of the Lord, 
all nations shall call them blessed. No longer dis- 
persed the earth over with heaven 7 s curse on their head 
and brand on their brow ; but gathered by Jehovah 
into the land given by him in covenant to Abraham, 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. ,143 

Isaac, and Jacob ; David's kingdom and throne re- 
stored, they shall see the Son of David, their own 
Prince, the Holy One of Israel, sitting upon that 
throne, chief in that kingdom, bestowing his richest 
blessings upon them first, and through them upon all 
the nations of the earth. 

During this glorious and blessed reign, when the 
power of sin and the effects of the curse shall be almost 
annihilated, the nature of the inferior animals will also 
be changed. Their savage ferocity, which seemed ever 
living and ready to destroy, will cease to exist in them, 
and they will become harmless as doves — their murder- 
ous cruelty will be transformed into loviug kindness ; 
their appetite for flesh shall cease, their thirst for blood 
quenched, and they shall not drink it. The terrible 
jaws of the lion and tiger and other beasts of prey shall 
cease to devour and tear the quivering flesh of their 
victims, and become gentle, harmless as the lamb, and 
side by side with it, without any desire for its flesh or 
it having any dread of them, in sweet company crop 
the flowery food. The fountain of deadly poison dried 
up in the mouth of the ever hated serpent, and the dis- 
position to bite and deposit the deadly virus in whoever 
approached him, destroyed ; the long existing enmity 
between him and man shall cease to exist, and they 
shall live together in love and toying friendship, 
pleased and delighted with each other. So the prophet 
in sublime and heavenly strains has sung, " The wolf 
also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall 



144 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



lie down with the kid ; and the calf, and the young lion, 
and the fatling together ; and a little child shall lead 
them. And the cow and the bear shall feed ; their 
young ones shall lie down together ; and the lion shall 
eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall 
play in the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall 
put his hand in the cockatrice's den. They shall not 
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters 
cover the sea." Isai. xi. 6-9. 

" The wolf and the lambkin together shall meet, 
And the leopard repose with the kid at his feet, 
And the child shall desport on the hole of the asp, 
And the lion shall lead in his infantile grasp. 

" For naught shall destroy in the mount of the Lord, 
Nor the beast with his fang, nor mankind with the sword, 
For the knowledge of God o'er the earth shall be spread, 
As the ocean-flood covers its measureless bed." 

" The lion, and the libbard, and the bear, 
Graze with the fearless flocks ; all bask at noon 
Together, or all gambol in the shade 
Of the same grove, and drink one common stream. 
Antipathies are none. No foe to man 
Lurks in the serpent now : the mother sees, 
And smiles to see, her infant's playful hand 
Stretched forth to dally with the crested worm, 
To stroke his azure neck, or to receive 
The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue." 



The groaning earth, too, shall be relieved of its 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 145 

oppressive burden and ushered into joyful service. 
Thorns and briers, the fruit of the awful curse in conse- 
quence of man's disobedience, which now mar its beauty, 
and blast and ban its fertility, shall fade and wither 
away, and the lovely and fragrant plant shall spring up 
and flourish in beauty where they grew. " Instead of 
the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the 
brier shall come up the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to 
the LonD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall 
not be cut off;*' Isa. lv. 13-. Xoxious, poisonous weeds 
which drink up earih's substance, and choke the growth, 
and cause the death of better and nobler things, and 
demand dailv the consuming toil and the laborious 
sweat of the husbandman's brow to keep them in sub- 
jection, shall have no congenial soil wherein to grow ; 
for the earth renewed will produce only that which is 
delightful and profitable to man, — :> that which is plea- 
sant to the sight and good for food." The curse of 
sterility repealed, the earth will again, as when it rtdled 
in all its new created goodness from the plastic hand 
of its Maker, without toilsome labour from the hand of 
man, almost spontaneously produce its varied and 
abundant fruits for the supply of its inhabitants. " The 
earth shall yield her increase, and God. even Israel's 
God shall bless the people.'' The fertile valleys shall 
then be far more fertile, and the arid wastes, and the 
sandy deserts where vegetable production had never 
spread a green leaf to the sun, shall then be converted 
into a fertile field, like a rich and well watered garden, 

7 



146 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

and shall wave with choicest and abundant fruitage. 
" The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad 
for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as 
the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even 
with joy and singing : the glory of Lebanon shall be 
given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon ; 
they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency 
of our God." 

" For in the wilderness shall burst forth waters, 
. And torrents in the desert ! 

And the glowing sand shall become a pool, 

And the thirsty soil bubbling springs; 

And in the haunt of dragons shall spring forth 

The grass, with the reed, and the bulrush." — Isa. xxxv. 

" I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in 
the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a 
pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will 
plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah-tree, and 
the myrtle, and the oil-tree : I will set in the desert the 
fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together : that they 
may see and know, and consider, and understand toge- 
ther, that the hand of the Lokd hath done this, and the 
Holy One of Israel hath created it." Isa. xli. 18-20. 

"Rivers of gladness water all the earth. 
And clothe all climes with beauty ; the reproach 
Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field 
Laughs with abundance ; and the land, once lean 
Or fertile only in its own disgrace, 



THE DURATION OP MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 147 



Exults to see its thirsty curse repeal'd, • 
Its various seasons woven into one, 
And that one season an eternal spring." 

44 The desert shall bloom like the rose in its prime, 
And the fountains shall gush in the desolate clime, 
And the thorn shall give place to the pine-tree of green, 
And the myrtle shall flower where the brier-bush hath been." 

But great as will be the earth's fertility; and the 
friendship and happiness that will prevail among its 
inhabitants ; and the holiness of the government which 
the Son of David will exercise during that glorious dis- 
pensation, yet sin, and the effects of the curse will not be 
entirely removed : the works of the devil will not be 
completely destroyed. Sin and wickedness will be 
seen here and there, but they will be so quickly sub- 
dued and punished by the holy reigning Prince that 
their pernicious influence will not be felt in the king- 
dom. This is clearly taught by Isaiah lxv. 20 ; " There 
shall be no more thence an infant of days," or an infant 
short lived, " nor an old man that hath not filled his 
days ; for the child shall die an hundred years old 
or the individual dying an hundred years old, shall be 
in age but a child, " but the sinner being an hundred 
years old shall be accursed. ?; Nor is it merely admitted 
that, during this glorious and blissful age there may be 
individual sinners among the inhabitants of the earth, 
like a stray diminutive cloud in the clear vault of 
heaven ; but also, that families may show disloyalty to 



148 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



the Prince of the kingdom, and be disposed to withhold 
the worship which He demands, which however by His 
judgment will soon be reduced to obedience. Zech. 
xiv. 16 — 19, " And it shall come to pass, that every one 
that is left of all the nations which came against Jeru- 
salem shall even go up from year to year to worship 
the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of 
tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come 
up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to 
worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them 
there shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go 
not up, and come not that have no rain," being watered 
by the Nile, " there shall be the plague wherewith the 
Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep 
the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment 
of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come 
not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." And while 
there will be thus some wicked men upon the earth ; 
so also will the unholy, cursed dust of the dead bodies 
of the wicked be mingling with the dust of the earth ; 
and death the last enemy will not be completely 
destroyed ; so that much as sin, and the effects of sin, 
may be diminished, yet they will not be utterly removed 
during that age of the kingdom. 

During the millennial reign there will be three 
classes upon the earth : Christ with his risen and 
changed glorified saints ; the saints in the flesh, and 
the few sinners that mingle with them. The resurrec- 
tion, and the changed glorified saints will be immortal, 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 149 



their bodies fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body. 
" Having been counted worthy to obtain that world/ 7 
or age, " and the resurrection from the dead : neither 
marry nor are given in marriage ; neither can they die 
any more ; for they are equal unto the angels ; and are 
the children of God, being the children of the resur- 
rection." Their happiness is perfect, it has reached its 
ever enduring consummation. The law of sin is de- 
stroyed in them ; their bodies redeemed from corrup- 
tion and the grave, they trample the vanquished enemy, 
death, under their feet. They are kings and priests 
unto God : they are his ministering servants to rule 
the nations, and occupy in that kingdom high, useful, 
and responsible stations. The saints in the flesh, or 
the mortal saints, are they who, during the days of the 
kingdom, marry and are given in marriage ; multiply 
and replenish the earth. During that age longevity 
will be greatly increased. The lives of the mortal 
saints will not be measured by tens but by hundreds of 
years, -as was the life of the antediluvians, for then as 
the days of a tree, or an oak which may be a thousand 
years, will be the days of Jehovah's people, and His 
elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They 
shall not labour in vain, nor " bring forth for trouble" 
(or generate a short-lived race), "for they are the seed 
of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with 
them." And during that long lifetime the effects of sin 
may, and doubtless will be so greatly removed that dis- 
ease will not affect or afflict the body at all ; " the 



150 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



inhabitant shall not say the head is sick or the heart is 
faint." And then when they come to die life will not 
ebb away slowly under protracted sickness and severe 
suffering ; soul and body may and probably will part 
without a pang. They may die like Moses on the top of 
Pisgah by the command of Jehovah, or " at the mouth of 
the Lord," or as the Jews say, " with a kiss from the 
mouth of the Lord." It is highly probable from the 
language here used, that Moses died without any suffer- 
ing ; and so may the saints of God, the blessed of the 
Lord in the flesh, die in the millennial age. The 
putting off the body may be to them like the putting off 
of our garments when we are about to lay ourselves 
down to repose ; and the fear of death will in like 
manner be taken away, because they will have the 
unclouded and indubitable testimony that they are 
God's chosen, sanctified, and beloved ones, and that the 
spirit stepping out of the body for a season will be 
attended with no pain and no danger to them, but will 
only be a transition into higher, greater glory and 
happiness. And then there is the third class, and a 
sorrowful class it is — a few sinners in the flesh, still 
cherishing their enmity against the glorious King, 
whose influence will scarcely be felt ; who, though they 
should live to the age of a hundred years, which in 
that dispensation is but infancy and youth, " shall die 
accursed." 

Such, according to the sure word of prophecy, will 
be the blessed state of things during the millennial age ; 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 151 



but when it comes near a close, suppressed wickedness 
will begin to burst forth, and the King's holy influence 
that controlled it being in a great measure withdrawn or 
suspended, it will spring up in other heart?, and mani- 
fest itself more openly, and in more terrible and furious 
form. Bitter enmity to the Holy Glorious Prince, 
whose gracious and blissful reign, it might have been 
expected, would have won and secured the love of every 
heart to himself ; which has long been smothered in 
consequence of his presence and the terrible judgments 
wherewith he visited its open manifestations, shall 
begin to burst out wherever it exists, and burn more 
fiercely according to the time it has been pent up, and 
the intensity of its suppressed desires to work out its 
diabolical purposes. Men will manifest a spirit of 
open rebellion, and meditate the overthrow of the 
Prince of peace, and his glorious kingdom and govern- 
ment ; preferring rather to rule in wickedness, than be 
ruled in holiness — the old satanic feeling coming up in 
mighty power, rather reign than serve. At this time 
the seal set upon Satan the arch-deceiver, will be 
broken by Him who " hath at his girdle the keys of 
Hell and of death the great chain wherewith he has 
been bound for a thousand years will be loosed, and he 
will be released from the bottomless pit. Feeling 
himself once more free, and at large upon the renewed 
earth where righteousness has long dwelt — raging in 
awful fury against Him, who so long confined him in 
the abyss ; and having some faint hope of success, and 



152 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



determined upon another desperate trial to vanquish 
his much hated enemy, the King who sits upon David's 
throne : he goes forth into the nations which are in 
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, deter- 
mined upon mighty deeds, upon glorious victory, who 
in their spirit of enmity, and hatred against Israel's 
King, are waiting for his coming. In this state of 
readiness he appears before them willing and prepared 
to lead on the battle. Full of enmity — inflamed zeal, 
he encourages them to engage in the warfare. Their 
views and his, being in unison, and both earnestly 
desiring the accomplishment of the same end, they are 
pleased with him as their leader, and willing to be 
under his command. At his bidding, and by the work- 
ing of his mighty power upon the hearts of the children 
of disobedience, the vast hosts are soon gathered, " the 
number of whom is as the sand of the sea," and in ter- 
rible battle array, the leader and his armies, urged on 
by desperate fury, and strong but false hopes of victory, 
hasten up as on eagle wing to Jerusalem, against the 
Lord the King, and " compass the camp of the saints 
about, and the beloved city." Satan rejoices in antici- 
pated slaughter, and cherishes some forlorn, desperate 
hope that he may yet vanquish the army of Israel, the 
hosts of the Lord, and see their leader, Jesus of Naza- 
reth fall and die on the battle-field, as he saw Him die 
on the cross. 

But he has performed the last high-handed act of 
daring rebellion : reached the loftiest summit of 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 153 



satanic wickedness : entered the scene of his final over- 
throw. The awful moment of his judgment has come, 
and the ruin which he sought to work upon another, 
is instantly to be his own. The Omnipotent Prince 
of peace meets him with the whetted sword of destruc- 
tion in His right hand. Justice stern, righteous, holy, 
demands the infliction of punishment without one 
moment's delay. In obedience to her call, the hour 
having come for her voice being fully heard and 
regarded, the long insulted Messiah pours out His 
furious wrath upon Satan and his armies ; " fire comes 
down from God out of heaven and devours them f 
sweeps them from the earth, casts them out, hurls them 
in agonizing defeat and multitudinous confusion, into 
the terrible lake of fire and brimstone which God 
Almighty in righteous indignation prepared for them. 
His last temptation, act of wickedness, rebellion upon 
earth has been performed. He is finally and for ever 
cast out of earth redeemed, renewed, the glorious 
kingdom of Immanuel, and consigned to the place pre- 
pared for him to endure the terrible wrath and ven- 
geance of God ages without end. By this act the God- 
Max, Christ Jesus, destroys the devil. The devil 
lives, but he lives not to perform acts of wickedness 
upon the earth ; but to suffer eternally in hell under 
the hand of Jesus, his almighty conqueror, the awful 
punishment which his wickedness deserves — the retri- 
butive vengeance of the Lord. 

Satan being thus cast out of the earth, and consigned 

i* 



154 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



to his place of everlasting torment, then comes the 
second resurrection. All the saints who have died 
during the millennial age shall be raised from their 
graves ; to be united to those who rose in- the first 
resurrection, and with them inherit the eternal kingdom. 
This will complete the resurrection of the children of 
God. All, all the bodies, jof the redeemed raised from 
the dead, not one solitary sleeper left behind in the 
tomb ; all fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, 
in the rapture of their victory shout with united voice, 
" 0 death, where is thy sting ? 0 grave, where is thy 
victory ?" 

After the glorious resurrection of the righteous, 
comes the appalling resurrection of the wicked. By 
the omnipotent power of God, their graves too are 
thrown open, and reluctant as they may be to leave 
their dark dwelling-place — shrinking from the terrors 
of the judgment, and the eternal wrathful retribution 
awaiting them, they are compelled to come forth. 
Unwillingly they come, but still, under an irresistible 
authority they come. Omniscience searches them out, 
and omnipotence brings them forth. Their vile dust, 
which during the millennial age, mingled with the 
earth and were " ashes under the soles of the feet of 
them who feared the Lord even that dust which 
polluted the earth while it remained therein, shall be 
raised by the power of the Almighty and reconstructed 
into foul accursed dwelling-places for the impure soul, 
and brought up for the judgment before the " great white 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



155 



throne," and " Him that sits thereon.'' 7 Their names not 
being found written in " the Lamb's book of life," the 
sentence of righteous condemnation will be pronounced 
upon them, and the} 7 will be " cast into the lake of fire." 
Every particle of unholy dust belonging to the wicked 
will, at their resurrection, be gathered out of the earth ; 
and at their judgment they will be removed from the 
earth, and consigned to " the lake of fire ;" so that not 
one of them shall be found upon the earth. And when 
all the dead have been raised, then will death the last 
enemy be destroyed : and when they have been cast 
into " the lake of fire," then will all the works of the 
devil be destroyed. Nothing of the devil, or the 
works of the devil ; neither sin nor sinners will be 
then seen in the earth ; the times of full, complete, 
perfect restitution of all things having come. 

When all this has been done, the earth will be 
thoroughly purged from the effects of sin. Nothing 
impure or unholy will be found thereon, and con- 
sequently the curse will be utterly removed. The 
earth will then be holy as it was when it evolved from 
the hand of its Creator, and when, in His infinite 
wisdom, He pronounced it " very good." Its inhabit- 
ants too will be all holy, for then Christ and His 
redeemed people alone will be upon it. In these re- 
deemed multitudes there is no imperfection, no stain of 
sin, — they have been thoroughly washed in the blood 
of the Lamb : they are all arrayed in the spotless robes 
of Christ's righteousness which by faith they haye put 



156 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

on. The eye of the Holy Father sees no spot, no 
wrinkle in them ; they are all holy as Christ is holy, 
and in this respect, as well as others, Christ and they 
are one. With Hiin they are the holy heirs and pos- 
sessors of the holy earth prepared for them, which is 
their everlasting inheritance — their eternal kingdom. 
And now " cometh the end, when He shall have 
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, 
when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority 
and power." 

By the end we are not to understand the end or 
termination of Christ's kingdom ; for of that, the 
angel Gabriel declared to his mother, " that there shall 
be no end thereby distinctly intimating that His 
kingdom would endure for ever. And the Bible as we 
have already seen abounds with teaching to that effect. 
The end here means the last band, the last resurrection 
company. The subjects of the resurrection are referred 
to in this, as divided into three bands or companies ; 
Christ, the first ; they that are Christ's at His coming, 
the second ; and then the wicked who are raised last 
and at the end of the millennium, the third or last. 
When they rise, then cometh the last band. The 
resurrection of the wicked ; or of them the last band 
will be the end, the finishing, the concluding act of 
that dispensation of the mediatorial undertaking — the 
finishing of the work at the close of that age which 
Christ engaged to do when He entered into covenant 
with the Father to redeem this fallen world. Th$ wick- 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 157 



ed, this last band, having been raised — the work of the 
millennial age having been finished, and all whom the 
Father had given Him to be redeemed up to that 
moment will stand before Him perfect in holiness — 
stand before Him in His now glorious image fair as 
Adam in the morning of his creation. The earth too, 
redeemed, will roll before Him perfect in holiness and 
laughing in primeval purity, sin and the effects of the 
curse the fruit of sin as completely removed as if their 
direful blight and misery had never been seen or felt 
there ; and Satan cast out, and every trace of him as 
perfectly removed as if his vile pollution had never 
marred its new born virgin purity. And now is come 
the perfecting of the work of redemption, the restitu- 
tion of all things ; now under the all successful mediato- 
rial management of the Lord Jesus Christ, is this earth 
restored to a condition, holy and happy as that pre- 
vious to the fall, and the work completed which He 
covenanted to do. 

Whatever may have been the changes wrought upon 
the earth and its inhabitants at the commencement of 
the millennium, and during that glorious age of 
Christ's kingly reign ; and no doubt these will be very 
great, restoring to a wonderful extent the long lost 
peace, happiness, and purity ■ yet it is not till the end 
of that age, that the perfect restitution of all things 
will be accomplished. The close of that age is the last 
of " times, v or the end of the time, for the finishing or 
perfecting of that work according to what " the holy 



158 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



prophets have spoken." The term restitution, signifies 
the restoring of that which was taken away, forfeited, 
or lost ; a restoring to a previous or primitive condi- 
tion, and as used in scripture must mean a restitution 
of this earth and all things thereon to the same condi- 
tion, or state in which they originally existed — to the 
state or condition, in which they were, before man put 
forth his hand and took of the fruit of the forbidden 
tree, and his disobedience brought down the curse of 
God upon himself, the earth, and all therein. And if 
this be really the meaning of the expression, as there 
can be no doubt it is, then, " the restitution of all things'' 
necessarily involves, and will just be the restitution of 
the Paradisiacal state — the restitution of the earth and 
its inhabitants to innocence and holiness, and God 
ruling in all, and all worshipping and glorifying God, 
He dwelling among men and favouring them with new 
revelations of His will. 

Now we have seen, that at the close of the millen- 
nial age, Satan and sin will be cast out of this earth ; 
and that it will be restored to a state of perfect holi- 
ness. The earth then, will be holy as it was when it 
emerged from the waters under the power of the Holy 
Spirit's wing spread over chaos, and when it rose up 
in its perfection before the eye of God, and He in 
smiling approbation pronounced it very good. It will 
again be the fit and divinely prepared habitation for 
absolutely holy beings, and the Lord God will not only 
visit it, as He did Eden of old, but dwell therein. 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 159 



The saints who have been redeemed during the pre- 
vious ages of the earth will also be perfect in holiness. 
Their risen bodies fashioned like unto Christ's glorious 
body ; they will all in their redeemed state, be in the 
image of God, and be perfectly holy in nature and 
conduct. They will be as perfectly holy as if they had 
never sinned, never fallen, and will shine in absolute 
purity, M as the sun in the kingdom of the Father/' 
These glorious children of the resurrection, " who 
neither marry, nor are given in marriage," will con- 
tinue to occupy their own peculiar places, and perform 
their own peculiar duties, in the offices assigned them 
by their great Redeemer, during the everlasting age of 
the kingdom of perfect glory. 

But when all this is done, it is manifest, that the 
restitution is not yet complete — all things are not yet 
restored. We see not yet upon the renewed earth, all 
that was upon it, in its unfallen and uncursed state, 
though there is a near approximation to that blessed 
order of things. Before Satan in his defection had 
alighted upon earth's fair creation, Adam and Eve, 
made in the image of God, walked among the trees and 
dwelt in the bowers of Eden. In this state of innocence 
they were immortal ; and God's command to them was, 
" multiply and replenish the earth." Had they not 
listened to the voice, and believed the words of the old 
serpent, " a liar from the beginning ;" they would not 
have fallen, nor become sinful nor mortal ; they would 
have multiplied and replenished the earth with pure, 



160 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

holy, immortal beings like themselves ; and the image 
of God, which was in the parents, would have been in 
like perfection in the children ; and this they would 
have done, as long as seemed good in the sight of God. 
And then, their offspring in their turn, would have 
risen up to fulfil the high and holy purpose of God, in 
making man male and female ; and thus, the propaga- 
tion of a holy and immortal race, would have gone on 
during the ages of eternity. All this, is manifestly 
implied, in the state in which our first parents were 
created ; and the command God gave to them in that 
state ; and had they fulfilled the conditions of the 
covenant made with them, such would doubtless have 
been the result : the earth would have been inhabited 
by an ever increasing, deathless race of holy human 
beings. But in consequence of Adam's transgression, 
an entirely different order of things has been intro- 
duced. Man, instead of propagating his kind in the 
image of God, propagates them in the image of the 
devil ; instead of their being immortal, — they are all 
subject to death. Now, if the " restitution" spoken of 
in scripture is to be complete, if the works of the devil 
are to be so destroyed, that the pre-existing order of 
things shall be perfectly restored, then, there must of 
necessity appear upon the new earth, holy beings in 
jlesh, like Adam and Eve in Eden. And if the 
abounding redemption which is in Christ Jesus, be 
adequate to purify those, who have been contaminated 
by sin ; overcome death, bring them up out of their 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 161 



graves, restore them to immaculate holiness, to the 
perfect image of God, as unquestionably it is, then, 
beyond all controversy, it is perfectly adequate to take 
away original sin, or the hereditary taint of the race 
without subjecting them to death. And if Christ, at 
the close of that age, completely takes away the taint 
of sin, which all our race have inherited from their 
great progenitor, it is evident they will be redeemed, 
they will be made holy, as well as those who were 
sanctified by the Holy Spirit, under the previous dis- 
pensations of ages, and they will be in the same state, 
as were Adam and Eve before their transgression. 
They will be human beings in the flesh without origi- 
nal sin — holy beings restored to the image of God, and 
by the restituting merits of the redemption that is in 
Christ Jesus, as thoroughly restored to the image of 
God, as Adam and Eve who were made in His image. 
This being done, then will the restitution of all things 
designed by God be accomplished ; for then, upon this 
redeemed and holy earth, originally designed for the 
habitation of man, and ultimately created anew for his 
abode, will be holy beings in the flesh, in the image of 

God, like Adam and Eve in Paradise, Then this earth 
# 

and man will be, by the mediatorial undertaking of the 
Son of God, restored to their primeval condition. 
That this is the purpose of God, and the ultimate 
result of the scheme of redemption, is not only clearly 
deducible from the scheme, and manifestly involved 
therein, when fully carried out ; but seems also dis- 



162 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



tinctly hinted, if not clearly taught in the Bible. And 
when, the remedial scheme has brought about such 
gloriously triumphant results, then, will the earth, and 
its perfectly holy inhabitants, be stupendous monuments 
to an enraptured creation, of the truth of Paul's 
declaration, when contemplating this glorious state of 
things ; " where sin abounded grace did much more 
abound." 

Nor will they, who will be the happy subjects of 
these all perfect and glorious changes having been 
restored to the unfallen condition of man, be like our 
first parents in a probationary state. The fact of their 
restoration prevents the possibility of this. The atone- 
ment was made, that they who were redeemed by its 
merits might abide for ever in that state of blessedness. 
Like the resurrection and transfigured saints they will 
be confirmed in holiness ; and in this state by the ever- 
enduring intercession of Christ, infallibly remain ; for 
in them, as well as in the others, Emmanuel shall eter- 
nally see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. 
Like the new"§arth, created for their everlasting resi- 
dence ; they shall abide before Him, for they are 
redeemed with an everlasting redemption. 

When this everlasting kingdom is established upon 
the earth in all its perfection and glory, it is said, Isa. 
ix. 7, " Of the increase of His government and peace there 
shall be no end ; upon the throne of David and upon 
his kingdom ; to order it and to establish it with judg- 
ment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever." 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



163 



It is here asserted by the Prophet, in the plainest and 
strongest language, that of the increase of the govern- 
ment of the Prince of Peace there shall be no end. 
Xow this prophetic declaration can have only one 
meaning, namely, that of the increase of the subjects of 
His government, there shall be no end. For if His 
government is to increase, become greater or more 
extensive, it can become so only by the increase or mul- 
tiplication, of the subjects over whom it is exercised. 
During the millennial age it is manifest it will increase 
rapidly. In that almost sinless dispensation well nigh 
half the race will not die, and be carried to the grave 
in infancy, as they are now. Neither will vast multi- 
tudes die in the very prime of life, when " their breasts 
are full of milk and their bones are moistened with 
marrow f but in that age the days of God's people 
' ; shall be as the clays of a tree.*'* They shall live for 
hundreds of years, and during this almost deathless 
dispensation, "they shall multiply and replenish the 
earth" until they become in number " like the stars of 
the sky and the sand upon the sea shore," and thus will 
the government of the Prince of Peace increase. 

And if His government will thus increase, as doubt- 
less it will, daring the millennial age ; it is not to be 
supposed that when that dispensation, preparatory to 
the absolutely perfect and everlasting reign comes to 
an end, that with it, the increase of His government — 
the increase of His subjects will also come to an end ; 
for concerning that it is declared, <: there shall be no end.' 1 



164 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



If with the millennium ends the increase of His sub- 
jects, then with it also ends the increase of His govern- 
ment. But of the increase of his government we are 
assured there shall be no end, consequently when the 
millennial age comes to an end the increase of His 
government still goes on ; the subjects of His govern- 
ment continue to multiply, and this increase of the 
Prince's government, or multiplication of his subjects 
shall continue for ever and ever. It has been proved 
that His kingdom, and His kingly government shall be 
eternal ; and it is here asserted that the increase of 
His government, or of the people over whom He reigns, 
shall be coeval with the duration of His kingdom, and 
consequently the increase of His subjects shall have no end, 
but shall be eternal. They shall multiply and continue 
to multiply throughout the flight of endless ages ; and 
according to the number or progress of these ages will 
be the ratio of increase, the growing multitude of the 
numbers without number. 

When the millennium is introduced we are told that 
" the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall 
never be destroyed f and we have seen that one essen- 
tial part of this never to be destroyed kingdom is the 
increase of redeemed mankind ; and if they cease to 
increase when the kingdom in the hands of the Eoyal 
King attains its perfection, then it is evident, that if 
the kingdom itself is not destroyed, an important or 
essential part of the kingdom would be destroyed, 
namely, the increase of the subjects. But there is not a 



THE DURATION OP MESSIAHS KINGDOM. 



165 



single syllable in the word of God teaching, that the 
increase of the race shall cease at the close of the mil- 
lennium, or at any subsequent period ; neither is there 
any plausible ground for such a supposition. If such 
an idea is entertained it is a groundless assumption, 
and without any scripture basis whereon to rest. In 
all the descriptions which we have of the judgment, 
and of the transactions of that solemn day, there is not 
one icord that would seemingly teach, that when it 
dawns the last human being shall have been born, or 
come into existence ; or that with its opening or closing 
scenes the increase of mankind shall cease. At the 
commencement of the millennium, and the personal 
coming of Jesus Christ, the anti-Christian nations will 
be judged, and the Jews with other nations will be con- 
verted, and these with their offspring will be a holy 
people to the Lord the King during that glorious age. 
When it terminates by the final overthrow of Satan, 
and those that rise in rebellion with him, and the resur- 
rection and final judgment of the wicked, there is no 
intimation that the increase of Messiah's holy ones shall 
cease ; but on the contrary, that it shall be continued, 
for of that, " there is to be no end.'' And why are the 
wicked finally removed from the earth, but that Mes- 
siah and His people may inherit it? And why are 
men in the flesh transformed to perfect holiness, restored 
to the divine image, yet upon the renewed earth, Christ 
dwelling with them, if they are not to multiply and 
increase ? And if there is to be no end to the increase 



166 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

of his government how are his subjects perpetually to 
multiply but in this way ? 

Let no man say that this would be derogatory to men 
or the race, (not the resurrection saints) transformed 
into perfect holiness and made immortal, or to Christ 
reigning over them ; for the objection would bear with 
equal force against the very design of Trinity, in cre- 
ating man male and female ; against the command given 
to Adam and Eve in innocence ; against the Abrahamic 
covenant ; against the incarnation of Christ and the 
covenant made with him, and against the increase of 
Messiah's kingdom during the millennial age. If man 
had never sinned, beyond all controversy, the race 
would have increased, and never ceased to increase ; 
and no man would ever have supposed it would ; and 
if through the mediation of Christ the nations inha- 
biting the earth at the close of the millennium are 
restored to perfect holiness — to unfallen purity and 
immortality, and in that state increase for ever 
and ever ; will any man, in his daring presumption, 
ascend the throne of judgment, and pass sentence upon 
the infinitely wise and holy God, and say of him, when 
through the redemption of His Son, carrying out his 
original infinitely wise and benevolent plans, he is 
acting in a way derogatory to himself he is establish- 
ing and supporting a system of carnality and sensu- 
ality ? If any should, the judgment is absurd, the sen- 
tence is unjust, impious ; for these are only the offspring 
of sin, and can have no existence in a state and among 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



167 



creatures absolutely holy. Xay, if it was worthy of 
God to create man male and female at first, and con- 
tinue their increase in the way in which he has done in 
their fallen condition, it is beyond all controversy much 
more worthy of God to continue that increase in their 
redeemed, restored state in the glorious kingdom, and 
under the holy reign of the holy King Jesus. Repu- 
diate this as a carnal kingdom, as a state of things 
unworthy of God ! Men may look upon it as such, but 
that will not make it what they, in their prejudice and 
perverse views, would represent it. A carnal kingdom 
in the common sense of the term it cannot be ; for only 
holy beings inhabit it, and consequently all their acts 
are holy ; an absolutely holy Being reigns over it, and 
consequently the entire government, and all that is 
done in that kingdom is holy. Every thing, every act, 
every event of that holy people and kingdom bears in 
it. and upon it, God's own inscription, written by his 
own finger, and exhibited in luminous relief, " Holi- 
ness to the Lord." All do the will and nothing but 
the will of the Lokd ; all serve him and glorify him by 
every action, and consequently nothing they do is or can 
be carnal or sensual, but everything pure and holy. 

And to this state it might easily be shown that all 
things under the mediatorial scheme are tending ; and 
that Christ as the Almighty Mediator is, through the 
merits of his death, working all things into this glori- 
ous consummation, and preparing for the holy, endless 
increase of his government. And for this, special pro- 



168 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



vision, as we have already seen, has been made. Those 
in the body from whom original sin will be taken away, 
and perfect holiness and immortality restored by the 
atonement and intercession of Jesus Christ at the end 
of the millennium, and the introduction of the perfect 
state, are they who will multiply the species and thereby 
increase the government of Messiah. The command 
given to Adam and Eve in innocence will be heard and 
obeyed, " multiply and replenish the earth and during 
that everlasting kingdom of perfection, holiness, and 
happiness, " the seed of the blessed" will be increasing 
and rising up before the Lord in absolute holiness of 
nature. In this state they will continue to multiply 
without interruption and without end ; and in the ever- 
growing numbers Christ will eternally see his perpe- 
tually increasing government extending yet more and 
more ; and the number of his offspring becoming yet 
greater and greater as the cycles of eternity roll on. 
And in these, as they rise up in countless multitudes 
before him, he will see the children of the eternal cove- 
nant — those whom the Father gave him before the foun- 
dation of the world — the purchase of His blood when 
it was shed on Calvary — the glorious fruit of His own 
mighty and divine redemption. That age will be pecu- 
liarly and emphatically Messiah's " days f and in these 
days shall the righteous flourish, not only as regards 
peace, plenty and happiness, but also as regards the 
increase of their numbers. And as the eye rolls down 
the ages of eternity still it can see generation after 



THE DURATION OP MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 169 

generation coming into existence to praise the Lord 
the King with the song of salvation. And these num- 
bers will, by every revolving age, be increasing like 
the majestic river, ever becoming greater by its suc- 
cessive tributaries as it sweeps on in its course ; and 
the time will never arrive when it will be said the last 
one redeemed by the blood of the Lamb has come into 
existence — the last child of God has been born — 
Christ now sees standing before him in living form 
all that his blood shall save. No, the last shall never 
come, for " of the increase of His government there shall 
be no end" 

What a glorious and enrapturing view is this ! How 
like God, and how worthy of Him ; and how far supe- 
rior to that generally entertained and presented ! Men 
commonly represent the day of judgment as the time 
when the number saved by the death of Christ will be 
completed. Upon what authority they do this it is 
difficult to see ; for such a doctrine is certainly not 
clearly taught in scripture ; and the question may be 
fairly propounded to those who hold it, where is it 
taught ? and until the place is designated, the passage 
pointed out, no great blame can be incurred if assent to 
such a doctrine be withheld. But if the number of the 
redeemed be complete at the day of judgment, however 
great that number may be, it must be small compared 
with what would be the ever increasing multitude 
redeemed through the flight of endless ages ; it must 
be stationary, whereas in the other case it would be 

8 



170 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

ever increasing. And if the merits of Christ's blood, 
the efficacy of his atonement be infinite, as unquestion- 
ably they are, why should they not be infinitely both as 
regards time and numbers saving souls ? If it should 
be replied, it is not the will of God they should ; then, 
it is but fair, in order to establish this, that the gain- 
sayer point out where this special revelation of God's 
will is made, or prove that such is God's will. But as 
this cannot be done, and the reverse has been done, it 
is manifest that the number of the redeemed will not 
be complete at the day of judgment, but will be increas- 
ing ages without end. 

Nor is this unworthy of God, but on the contrary 
most worthy of Him. If it was worthy of Him to create 
man at all, and prolong and increase the race after their 
awful apostasy, surely it cannot be unworthy of Him to 
prolong and increase the race in their renewed, resti- 
tuted condition. If it was worthy of Him to redeem 
some, no matter how great or small the number, for 
that does not affect the question, surely it is not 
unworthy of Him to redeem numbers without end, and 
age after age raise up these to the glory of his grace. 
On the contrary, so far as finite mind can judge, it is 
more God-like, more worthy of Him. And if it be as 
the scriptures clearly teach, the greater the number 
saved, the greater the glory to God and the Lamb, then 
the ever-increasing number of*the saved during the 
ceaseless flight of ages would add to that glory, and 
make that work worthy of God. 



4 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH S KINGDOM. 171 

The analogy of nature furnishes a strong argument 
in favour of the endless increase of the redeemed. It 
is the law of universal nature, plants and animals, even 
in their fallen and cursed condition, — " while in sub- 
jection to vanity and the bondage of corruption," to 
propagate their kind, and this they would do ages 
without end, if not interrupted by the Author of these 
laws. But according to the sure word of prophecy, 
through the atonement of Jesus Christ, sin. and con- 
sequently the curse, have to be utterly removed ; that 
all restored to a perfect condition may, in that condi- 
tion, propagate its kind. And when once restored to 
that condition is it to be supposed that God will arrest 
the progress, and destroy that which he has already 
made perfect ; and that, too, when its perpetuity would 
tend incomparably more to the promotion of his glory ? 
God has for six thousand years been employed in suc- 
cessive creations in this fallen world for his own glory ; 
and when this earth has been renewed, and converted 
into the habitation of righteousness and holiness for the 
increase of pure and holy beings, is it to be supposed 
that omnipotence will cease its creative work, and that 
too at the very time when, by its continued operations, 
God's glory would be more promoted than it had ever 
been ? 

The merit of the atonement, too, seems to argue and 
demand the endless, infinite progression of the race. 
If that is infinite and never can be exhausted, why may 
not an endless succession of being3 come into existence 



172 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

to share its benefits ? "Would not the benevolence of 
God, as well as his ever acting for His own glory, argue 
powerfully against His fruitlessly treasuring up the 
merit of the atonement by finally arresting the increase 
of the human race, and demand the continuance of that 
increase, that that infinite merit may be exhibited upon 
an ever increasing scale, in the eternally growing num- 
bers saved thereby to the honour of God's grace, and 
the ever abounding fulness of the saving efficacy of the 
great decease which was accomplished at Jerusalem? 
And would not God's creating beings made holy by the 
death of His Son, continued for ever and ever, be far 
more like Him, and the beneficence he has ever mani- 
fested, than the contrary, than ceasing to create, and 
with that the increase of his kingdom ceasing ? 

This view is also confirmed by scripture, as we have 
to a certain extent seen. It is declared, " a seed shall 
serve Him ; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a 
generation. They shall come, and shall declare his 
righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he 
hath done this." All commentators agree that this pas- 
sage teaches, that in every age there will be some for a 
generation to the Lord ; there will be some born to serve 
him ; and that as they are born his righteousness shall 
be declared unto them. Let this precious and truthful 
doctrine be carried out, and it will be found that they, 
it may be undesignedly, teach the very doctrine con- 
tended for, the endless progression of redeemed holy 
ones. They admit that in the age of the latter-day 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 173 

glory the inhabitants of the earth will be all righteous, 
all holy, and that in that dispensation there will be a 
succession of holy generations ; and if this succession 
has existed for so long a period when or how has it to 
end? But in their interpretation they impliedly teach, 
it will never end ; and this is the very doctrine of the 
passage. It is asserted, " A seed shall serve Him f it 
shall be accounted to the Lord for a, or rather, as it is 
in the original, for the generation. But the word the 
generation, neither itself, nor as it occurs in the passage, 
signifies a definite number for ever the same ; but an 
ever increasing number, for it signifies build, pile up, 
increase, and might have been rendered " a seed shall 
serve Him it shall be counted to the Lord for the 
building, piling up, or the increase. And if this be 
correct, then, while the seed serves Him, the piling up, 
the adding, the increasing will be progressive ; and if 
they are to serve Him eternally, so will they be eter- 
nally increasing. And this eternal increase or pro- 
gression will furnish them with the perpetual opportu- 
nity of declaring the Lord's righteousness unto a people 
that shall be born from generation to generation through 
the flight of endless ages. This seems to be the doc- 
trine taught in this passage. Look at the generation 
then, the holy ones inhabiting the new earth, and from 
that generation we are taught, a new generation shall 
spring up to serve the Lord, and so on eternally, each 
declaring to the other his righteousness ; for surely it 
will not be contended, that when the generation, or the 



174 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

increasing, inhabiting the earth become all holy, the 
Lord will cut off their increasing, and their service to 
Him of declaring his righteousness to a people that shall 
be born, when he has declared that they and their 
offspring with them shall inherit the earth for ever and 
ever. 

The same doctrine seems further taught by the sweet 
singer of Israel, Ps. cii. 25-28, ' Of old hast Thou laid 
the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the 
works of thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt 
endure ; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment ; 
as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be 
changed ; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall 
have no end. The children of Thy servants shall con- 
tinue, and their seed shall be established before Thee." 
Here reference is made to the change through which 
the earth and the heavens or surrounding atmosphere 
are destined to pass ; and it is asserted, that amidst all 
these changes Jehovah shall remain unchanged. " Thou 
art the same, and Thy years shall have no end." When 
the new heavens and the new earth have been created, 
Jehovah Jesus will live eternally in them. But if He 
is to survive these changes, and live years without end, 
so also are his redeemed people for whom this new 
creation " is prepared. The children of thy servants 
shall continue, and their seed shall be established before 
thee f that is, while Christ continues to exist they shall 
continue ; for they and their seed are to continue, or 
dwell, or be established before him. This establishing 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



175 



takes place at the time of the new creation, and when 
introduced into this state they are to increase ; and if 
that increase once begin, where and when shall it end ? 
End it can have none ; like the abiding of his servants 
before Him it will continue for ever : it will be esta- 
blished as an order in the kingdom, and their numbers 
will be perpetually increasing. If it ends, then also 
may the continuance of the children of his servants 
before him end. The increase of the race seems clearly 
implied both here and elsewhere. " He shall see his 
seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of 
the Lord shall prosper in his hand.*' " Of the increase 
of his government there shall be no end." 

The same doctrine is not only implied, but manifestly 
taught in the covenant made with Abraham. He and 
his seed are to have the land for an everlasting posses- 
sion ; and when in possession of that land, the Lord 
promised to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven. 
Abraham and his seed have never yet inherited the 
land ; nor have his seed been so multiplied ; but when 
they are gathered from the lands whither God in 
His anger has driven them, according to His sure 
word of promise, and united under one head, under 
God's servant, the Beloved, then will they begin to 
multiply, and having once begun, where in scripture is 
.it taught, or even insinuated, that they shall ever cease 
to multiply ? Man may assert they will, at the day of 
judgment : but it has already been shown, that that is 
the time when they will increase more rapidly ; and 



176 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 



therefore, the reason of the assertion is demanded. 
Men may take it for granted, that the increase of the 
race will cease at the day of judgment or at some other 
epoch, but as such a doctrine is not taught in the 
Bible, proof upon this point is demanded. When the 
seed of Abraham get the promised land for an ever- 
lasting possession, they will consist of parents and 
children, and the getting possession of the inheritance, 
will not surely prevent the children growing up to 
manhood ; neither will it prevent them from multiply- 
ing. On the contrary, it is when they have possession 
of the land, that the Lord has promised to make their 
number as the stars of the sky, and the sand upon the 
sea shore. And if they are to possess the land for 
ever ; and if, when entering upon the possession of 
the land, to increase in numbers ; and that too, for 
ages after ages, why are they not in the eternal posses- 
sion of the land to increase for ever ? The land was 
promised to them for an everlasting possession, that 
they might for ever multiply in the land : and it 
would be as consistent to hold, that they shall not 
have that land for an everlasting possession, though 
God has sworn they shall, as, that they shall not as 
long as they possess that land multiply therein. 

Moreover, the promise to Abraham in the covenant, 
was, " In blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, 
I will multiply thee" Now it will not be denied, that 
in this promise, God intimates to Abraham that He 
will bless his seed eternally ; and if this be true and 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 177 

admitted, then it must also be true and admitted that 
He will multiply his seed eternally. There is no inti- 
mation that the work of blessing them is perpetual, 
and the work of multiplying them only temporary. 
God's blessing them and God's multiplying them 
according to the very nature of the covenant and 
promise, must be, and assuredly are co-enduring. If 
then He blesses them eternally, as assuredly He will 
do, as certainly will He multiply them eternally. The 
continuance of blessing and the multiplying stand or 
fall together. 

The ceaseless propagation of the race, is also taught 
by the angel Gabriel, when he declared to His virgin 
mother, " He shall reign over the house of Jacob for 
ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." 
When the restored throne of His father David is given 
to Him, and according to the promise and prophecy, 
He begins to reign over the house of Jacob ; we have 
seen, that the Jews are to be converted, and multiply 
under His divine and holy government. Of this there 
can be no doubt, for it is clearly taught in scripture. 
Now it is the introduction of this kingdom, that is to 
bring about this order of things ; but this kingdom 
when once introduced is to be eternal : " He shall 
reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His 
kingdom there shall be no end." Now it cannot be sup- 
posed, that it is merely of the continuance of the 
government or rule, or of the duration of the kingdom 
itself, that there shall be no end ; but also, of the 

8* 



178 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 



increase of the subjects of the kingdom. The increase 
of the human race is a part of the government and 
kingdom, and is indeed an essential part ; and if, of 
the kingdom and government there is to be no end, 
neither is there to be of that important part, the 
increase of the human race, which is elsewhere desig- 
nated the increase of the government, and of which it 
is affirmed there shall be no end. 

This might have been farther argued frofti the 
eternity of Christ's priesthood ; from His perpetual 
intercession ; from His ability to save to the uttermost 
of time — the uttermost of the eternal ages, them that 
come unto God by Him : the perpetuity of the earth, 
and other things appertaining to the kingdom : but we 
forbear. We have seen from the analogy of creation : 
from the merits of Christ's atonement ; and from the 
teaching of God J s word, that Messiah's kingdom will 
be eternal : and that the human race restored to per- 
fect holiness, will in that eternal kingdom endlessly 
increase. How glorious the thought! How worthy 
of God that order of things ! Through the light of 
revelation, we see Jesus Christ returning to this earth, 
" in like manner as the disciples saw him go," — coming 
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, 
and the ten thousand times ten thousand of His saints, 
and all His holy angels with Him. The voice of the 
archangel and the trump of God, pours from amid the 
glory covered heavens, rolling round the globe — in its 
progress opening the graves and breaking the slumbers 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 179 



of God's holy ones reposing in the tomb ; and under its 
mighty power " these mortals put on immortality ; 
these corruptibles put on incorruption'' — their bodies 
everywhere arise from the earth, and the ocean's dark 
wave, and as they come, successively come in vast 
multitudes. " are fashioned like unto Christ's glorious 
body.*' sitting on the white cloud, and the living believ- 
ing ones are changed. The Jews, and others are con- 
verted, and become the holy inhabitants of earth. 
" The groans of this creation cease, being delivered 
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty 
of the sons of God" — the long waited for adoption, — 
the resurrection of the body having come. The 
inferior animals dwell together in harmony, the ferocity 
of their nature being destroyed. The earth every- 
where becomes fruitful as the garden of the Lord, and 
the holy and happy children of God inhabit it. Ages 
in endless succession roll on, and generation after 
generation without end, rise up under the perpetual 
government of Jesus Christ sitting for ever upon the 
throne of His father David, to the increase of His 
government, to the glory of His grace ; and to swell 
the rapturous anthems of His praise. Amid all, above 
all, we see the Son of the virgin, the God-Man enshrin- 
ed in glory, moving in glory, and an universe of glory 
and happiness moving around Him, and as the eye 
labours to look yet farther into the dazzling abyss of 
eternity, that already inconceivably great glory seems 
brightening, increasing ; and generation after genera- 



180 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH^ KINGDOM. 

tion, of pure and holy beings appear coming into 
glorious existence ; each successive one surpassing in 
number the preceding ; and the enravished ear listens 
with ecstasy to the song of praise, ever becoming more 
majestic in its perpetually increasing swell, as the 
eternal generations come and lift up their voices in 
that universal song. 

Reader, that kingdom of boundless, endless glory is 
before you. It has been revealed in God's holy word 
to attract your attention, to captivate your heart, to 
call forth your energies to obtain it. The Son of God 
has been " made of a woman, made under the law" — 
He has become man, — He has agonized in the garden, 
bled, died upon the cross, descended into the tomb 
that you might inherit and enjoy this kingdom endless, 
boundless in glory and happiness. Now will you 
accept of this kingdom as your everlasting inheritance ? 
You are upon earth at this moment for settling this 
grand, this awful question. This is the business, the 
important, the whole, the sole business of life. You 
are here on earth, really for no other purpose than to 
settle this question ; than to choose or reject this 
kingdom. You may think you have other business, 
but assuredly you have not ; for whatever you may 
think you have, it is not the small dust of the balance 
when weighed against this— it is lost — utterly lost — 
annihilated in the overwhelming, immense importance 
of this. You are here to determine the question, and 
the time allowed for the decision is very short, and 



THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 181 



every moment becoming shorter ; and the hour is at 
hand — Oh ! methinks I hear the solemn warning of its 
coming knell, when, if not having decided to accept 
the kingdom, it will be lost — lost for ever. One 
moment's delay in cordially accepting it — in grasping 
it with the hand of faith, and it may be beyond your 
reach ; and all the agonizing regrets which can wring 
the heart, and all the fervent prayers which the lips 
can utter, will not restore that lost opportunity. Ah ! 
no. J\ W, and only now, is the time to decide, the 
time to accept. The spirits of the Old and Xew 
Testament saints are a cloud of witnesses hanging 
over your head, waiting for your decision ; angels are 
waiting for your decision ; and the Lord Jesus Christ 
has spared you to this moment, that you might make a 
decision, and He is waiting for it. He points you 
with one hand to the place of outer darkness — to the 
lake that burns with fire and brimstone ; and with the 
other to that kingdom whose glory shall never fade, 
whose happiness shall never end, and says to you 
which will you choose for your everlasting portion? 
and waits for your answer. He waits. And can you 
hesitate, do you hesitate in such a situation as this ? 
Hesitate, when the salvation of the soul is at stake ; 
when the kingdom of eternal glory and happiness is 
the prize ! Hesitate, when the end of hesitation may 
be, — certainly will be, if persisted in, eternal damna- 
tion. Oh ! choose the kingdom, the blood-bought, the 
redeemed, the glorious kingdom this very moment, and 



182 THE DURATION OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

you shall eternally move among the sons of God, shine 
in the glory that emanates from the Lamb, and triumph 
in the ever abounding joy of his presence : but if you 
postpone it one moment, then, it may be too late ; and 
then, Oh, fearful thought ! you will sink, sink, sink 
eternally amid " the unquenchable flames of that lake 
which burns with fire and brimstone." 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM, &C. 183 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM SHALL BE GIVEN TO 

MESSIAH. 

"The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father 
David ; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of 
His kingdom there shall be no end." — Luke i. 32, 33. 

We have seen Messiah's throne and kingdom to be 
a literal throne and kingdom, as literal as any of the 
ancient thrones and kingdoms that ever existed upon 
earth. We.have glanced at the extent of that kingdom, 
and seen that it is to consist not only of the land of 
Canaan given in covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, but of the whole earth — that all other kingdoms 
are to give place to it — that the kingdoms of this world, 
or the territory whereon they exist, have to become his 
kingdom. " He shall reign from sea to sea, from the 
river unto the ends of the earth." "We have glanced 
also at the perpetuity of his kingdom, and seen, when it 
is introduced, set up or established upon the renewed 
earth, it will exist in millennial glory not merely for a 



184 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



thousand years, but for three hundred and sixty thou- 
sand. And when this period of the kingdom of great 
glory comes to a close, and which is but introductory 
to yet greater glory ; every thing unholy will be 
removed from earth and its inhabitants ; all will be 
wrought by the purifying merits of the great decease 
which was accomplished at Jerusalem into perfection, 
holiness, and glory, and in this state continue for ever 
and ever. We come now to glance for a moment at 
the time when this kingdom shall be given unto the Son 
of the Highest and he shall sit upon the throne of his 
father David. 

The Holy Scriptures frequently, and by various 
events, clearly describe the time and mark out the epoch 
when the throne of his father David and the govern- 
ment of the earth shall be given to Prince Messiah. 
It would be pleasing and profitable withal, to advert to 
the numerous passages in the Bible and examine those 
that refer to the time when this kingdom shall be given 
to Jesus ; but a few, and only a few must suffice, And 
at these we shall give only a passing glance. 

The time when the kingdom shall be given to Messiah 
is clearly pointed out in Dan. vii. 7-28. " After this I 
saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, 
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ; and it 
had great iron teeth ; it devoured and brake in pieces, 
and stamped the residue with the feet of it ; and it was 
diverse from all the beasts that were before it ; and it 
had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



185 



there came up among them another little horn, before 
whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by 
the roots ; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the 
eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 

" I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the 
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as 
snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool : His 
throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burn- 
ing fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before Him ; thousand thousands ministered unto him, 
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him ; 
the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I 
beheld then, because of the voice of the great words 
which the horn spake ; I beheld, even till the beast 
was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the 
burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, 
they had their dominion taken away ; yet their lives 
were prolonged for a season and time. 

" I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the 
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came 
to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near 
before him. And there was given him dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan- 
guages, should serve him : His dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his 
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

" I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of 
my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I 
came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked 



186 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



him the truth of all this. So he told me and made me 
know the interpretation of the things. These great 
beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise 
out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall 
take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, 
even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth 
of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the 
others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, 
and his nails of brass, which devoured, brake in pieces, 
and stamped the residue with his feet ; and of the ten 
horns that were in his head, and of the other which 
came up, and before whom three fell ; even of that 
horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great 
things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I 
beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them ; until the Ancient of days 
came, and judgment was given to the saints of the 
Most High ; and the time came that the saints possessed 
the kingdom. Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be 
the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse 
from all kingdoms, and devour the whole earth, and 
shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the 
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall 
arise ; and another shall rise after them ; and he shall 
be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three 
kings. And he shall speak great words against the 
Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most 
High, and think to change times and laws ; and they 
shall be given into his hand, until a time and times, 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



18T 



and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, 
and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and 
to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and 
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints 
of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 
Hitherto is the end of the matter." 

The fourth beast in this magnificent group of symbols 
symbolizes the Roman power, that great monarchy as it 
existed at the time, and after conquering the Grecian 
Empire. The ten horns symbolize the monarchies or 
kingdoms into which it was subsequently divided, which 
still exist ; but which are now trembling before the 
prelusive commotions of the fast-coming tempest of cer- 
tain and awful destruction. The little, or eleventh 
horn, having eyes, and the mouth speaking great things, 
symbolizes the papacy, and the mighty power exercised 
by it. By the thrones being cast down or set, and the 
Ancient of days sitting, is evidently meant the day of 
judgment. The language here used can apply to nothing 
else ; and it is the language commonly used to describe 
the coming of the Judge and the scenes of that day ; 
and this is its acknowledged meaning. The one like 
the Sox of man is acknowledged by all commentators to 
be the Lord Jesus Christ ; and this is the title given to 
Him and the title which he assumes in the New Testa- 
ment. His coming with the clouds of heaven denotes 
his coming to judgment ; for this is the very language 



188 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



in which he and his disciples describe his return to 
earth — His coming on that day. " He will come in the 
clouds of heaven with power and great glory." And 
when he thus comes, according to the vision, there 
are given him everlasting dominion and glory and a 
kingdom, that universal service and homage may be 
rendered to him. Now this distinctly teaches that he 
is to be the supreme and universal sovereign of earth ; 
for all people, nations, and languages are to serve him. 
These only exist upon the earth, and compose that king- 
dom of which he is to be the Monarch. Now these 
powers indicated by these symbols are to exist till the 
day of judgment — till the thrones are cast down — till 
the Son of man comes for their destruction, and the 
introduction of his own kingdom ; consequently, the 
time of the destruction of these kingdoms is the time of 
the coming of the Son of man : and the time of his 
coming is the time when the kingdom is given to him. 
The second beast, the Medo-Persian monarchy, destroyed 
the first beast, the Babylonian monarchy ; the third 
beast, the Grecian monarchy, destroyed the Medo-Per- 
sian ; the fourth beast, the Eoman monarchy, destroyed 
the third-; and now the fourth, or Roman monarchy, as 
certainly foredoomed to destruction as those that pre- 
ceded it waits its destruction, and the heavens and the 
earth are full of the portentous signs of its rapid coming 
and near approach ; and that is to be done by the 
smiting of the stone cut out of the mountain without 
hands — by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



189 



of heaven — by the second advent of Jesus Christ. 
When he comes then he destroys that monarchy and 
establishes his own, just as each of the preceding 
monarchies had done. Xo kingdom, no reign inter- 
venes between the destruction of the fourth beast, the 
Roman dynasty, and the kingdom of Messiah. When 
that kingdom, then, is destroyed by Cheist's coming he 
receives his kingdom, the whole earth. The time of his 
coming then, .and the destruction of these monarchies, 
is the time when he shall receive his kingdom. 

Further, Daniel distinctly specifies the duration of 
the Papacy or anti- Christian power — how long it shall 
wear out the saints of the Most High. They shall be 
given into his hand, " until a time and times, and the 
dividing of time which is according to the usual 
interpretation twelve hundred and sixty years. When 
this time expires he affirms, the judgment shall sit, that 
is the great Judge of the earth shall occupy the throne 
of judgment — arraign his enemies before him — pro- 
nounce the righteous sentence of condemnation upon 
them — inflict upon them the punishment they deserve, 
and destroy him and his power who destroyed Jhe saints. 
This day of judgment and retributive justice will take 
away him who spake great swelling words against the 
Most High, and did wear out his saints, and will take 
away his dominion to consume and destroy it unto the 
end. And when all this destruction is accomplished 
upon that anti- Christian power, then will the kingdom 
under the whole heavens, which shall have no end, be 



190 THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 

given to Jesus Christ and his saints. The time then, 
when the judgment sits — when Antichrist, the perse- 
cuting power, is destroyed, and his kingdom utterly 
consumed, is the time when the kingdom is given to 
Messiah. 

Many other passages, from the prophets and the book 
of Revelation, specifying in like manner the time when 
the kingdom shall be given to J esus, might be adduced 
and examined ; but it is deemed unnecessary. In per- 
fect accordance, however, with all this, is the teaching 
of Paul in 2 Thess. i. 8, " And then shall the wicked be 
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath 
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of 
his coming." That wicked, and the person in the third 
verse designated the man of sin, is evidently one and 
the same person. It is admitted by all commentators, 
that these names denote Antichrist. Mention is made 
of an epoch when he shall be fully revealed— revealed 
in all his power ; and when that time comes, when that 
full revelation is made, or when he is exercising and 
working in the mightiness of his power, then the Lord 
Jesus Christ will consume him with the breath of his 
mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his 
coming. But this destruction is to be accomplished at, 
and by the Lord's glorious coming. And the glorious 
coming here spoken of, is the glorious coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ to this earth for judgment as is 
clearly taught in the preceding part of the chapter ) 
consequently the time when the destruction of " that 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



191 



wicked," " the man of sin," takes place is the time when 
Messiah receives the kingdom and sits down upon the 
throne of his father David. 

Again, the time when the Jewish nation shall be con- 
verted to the faith and public acknowledgment of 
Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, is the time, when 
His kingdom shall be set up and established upon the 
earth, as is clearly implied in His own words ; " Hence- 
forth ye shall not see me until ye shall say, Blessed is 
He who cometh in the name of the Lord." Christ 
who possessed the gift of prophecy, yea, was omni- 
scient, and saw clearly all the actions of all generations 
yet unborn, gave the Jews whom He addressed, dis- 
tinctly to understand that He was about to leave them, 
and the earth whereon they dwelt. He intimated at 
the same time, that His absence would be only tem- 
porary, and that He would return, and that they would 
see Him again. But upon His next appearance, or 
return to earth, they would not brand or reject Him 
as an impostor ; they would not refuse to recognise 
Him as the long expected Shiloh. As a nation with 
eyes unsealed, and vision divinely illuminated they 
would see His true and glorious character, and with 
hearts throbbing with ecstasy at His coming, they 
would recognise, and hail Him with the most rapturous 
hosannas as their Prince of Peace. That divinely 
predicted advent or return has not yet taken place ; 
the heavens yet retain the King of the Jews, and the 
land of Israel has not yet echoed with the greetings of 



192 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGODM 



their King ; but He will return as certainly as He 
uttered these words and left them. As certainly as 
they saw Him, and rejected Him, as certainly shall they 
in a national capacity see, and receive Him with the 
most rapturous joy. The time of His return, then, and 
public and national reception, is the time, when the 
kingdom shall be given to him ; — when He shall assume 
the government of which the prophets have spoken — 
restore the kingdom to Israel, and^sit upon the rebuilt 
throne of His father David, and reign over them, and 
through them over the whole earth, His own, entirely 
His own kingdom in righteousness for ever and ever. 

That the kingdom shall be given to Christ at the 
time of the national restoration and conversion of the 
Jews, is also clearly taught by Peter in Acts iii. 19, 
when addressing the murderers of the Lord, and 
charging them with the awful sin of crucifying the 
Prince of life, he says, " Repent ye, therefore, and be 
converted, that/ your sins may be blotted out, so that the 
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the 
Lord ; and He shall send Jesus Christ, who before 
was preached unto you : whom the heaven must receive 
until the times of restitution of all things, which 
God hath spoken, by the mouth of all His holy 
prophets since the world began. 7 ' The grand doctrine 
clearly taught in this passage is, that when the Jews 
nationally repent of crucifying the Lord of glory, and 
recognise Jesus of Nazareth, as their Messiah, the 
times of refreshing will come ; that is, God's covenant 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



193 



blessings promised to the fathers will be conferred 
upon them in ail their fulness. Jesus Christ shall be 
sent to them as their King — their glorious reigning 
Messiah, to terminate "the groans of nature in this 
nether world which heaven has heard for ages to 
restore all things made subject to vanity, suffering, and 
desolation by him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
to restore the kingdom to Israel, and reign in right- 
eousness over a redeemed earth, of which all the pro- 
phets have spoken since the world began ; which will 
be the restitution of all things — the fulness and bright- 
ness of the latter-day glory — the millennial dispensa- 
tion, for which the souls under the altar are crying — 
the spirits around the throne looking forward, and 
even we ourselves groaning within ourselves. Xow 
the time of the national conversion of Israel, is the time, 
when the refreshing shall come from the presence of 
the Lord, and all these glorious things shall be accom- 
plished. But that time is the time when Messiah shall 
return, as is clearly taught in the passage, and conse- 
quently, the time when He shall receive the kingdom. 

That the kingdom shall be given to Christ at this 
epoch is equally clearly taught by Paul, Eom. xi. 25, 
26. u For I would not, brethren, that ye should be 
ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in 
your own conceits), that blindness in part is happened 
to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 
And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, 
There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall 

9 



194 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'' The blindness 
and rejection of Israel is temporary, namely until the 
fulness of the Gentiles be come in. When the time for 
bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles has expired, 
and when that great and glorious work shall have been 
accomplished, then, the blindness of Israel shall be 
removed : — they shall see Messiah in His person, in 
His true character, and as cordially embrace Him as 
their fathers rejected Him. And this great and 
glorious work shall be accomplished by the Deliverer, 
the Son of David himself ; for then He is to come out 
of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. When 
He does this He is upon the earth, and the time of 
His doing this, is the time when He receives the king- 
dom. It is as the king already in possession of the 
kingdom, having supreme and universal power in His 
hands, that He comes out of Zion the metropolis of His 
kingdom, and turns away ungodliness from Jacob, and 
through the house of Jacob exercises His royal rule 
over all the nations of the earth. 

Contemporaneous with all this is the fulfilment of 
the times of the Gentiles. When their times are ful- 
filled, Jerusalem which was laid in ruins and desola- 
tion by them, and has been for centuries, and now is, 
trodden down by them, shall be rebuilt. Israel's long 
scattered, oppressed, weeping children shall return 
from the many lands of their exile, to do this work 
most vehemently desired by every heart. The Lord 
himself will prepare their way, and help them in the 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



195 



glorious undertaking. " Thou shalt arise, and have 
mercy upon Zion ; for the time to favour her, yea, the 
set time is come. For thy servants take pleasure in 
her stones, and favour the dust thereof." When the 
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Jerusalem shall be 
rebuilt, as the city of the Great King, and the throne 
of David rebuilt in it, for the occupancy of that 
glorious king ; and, then, God's covenant and promise 
will be fulfilled ; for then. He will set the seed of 
David according to the flesh upon that throne, and give 
Him the nations of the earth for His inheritance, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. The 
Psalms, and the Prophets, and the Epistles and the 
Apocalypse all point out that as the time, when the 
kingdom shall be given to Pkince Messiah, the Son 
of the Highest. They point out also, the resurrection 
of the righteous dead : the day of judgment, and the 
time of other events, to which we deem it unnecessary 
to refer, and with which every attentive reader of the 
Bible must be familiar, as the time when the kingdom 
shall be given to Jesus Christ. 

Now if all this be correct ; and it surely does appear 
to be the plain and uniform teaching of scripture, then, 
Antichrist will not be destroyed till the time of the 
Jews' conversion — till the time of the Gentiles be ful- 
filled : or, in other words, till the Lord come, and cast 
the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire prepared 
for the devil and his angels ; and bind Satan and shut 
him up, and take the kingdom to Himself. If Anti- 



196 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



christ be not destroyed till then, and scripture does 
not teach he shall be, but that he shall not be ; and if 
the latter-doy glory cannot be ushered in till Anti- 
christ is destroyed — till she who has drunk the blood 
of the saints, and is still ready to drink it, is utterly 
consumed by the devouring fire : nor the meek — the 
saints possess the earth, then, it unavoidably follows, 
that, the cry cannot be heard, " The kingdoms of this 
world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and His 
Christ." Or, in other words, there can be no millen- 
nium till the Lord himself come to sit upon the raised 
up throne of His father David ; and to set up and 
establish that kingdom of glory and blessedness, " for 
which the whole creation is groaning and travailing in 
pain together." 

That the latter-day glory of the church will not be 
ushered in till the same Jesus, who was taken up into 
heaven, shall return in like manner as the disciples 
saw Him go, might be argued from the whole tenor of 
scripture. But suffice it to say, that the latter-day 
glory of the church is the time to which patriarchs, 
prophets, disciples, apostles, martyrs and godly men in 
every age have looked forward with the deepest 
interest ; and in describing that, prophecy has poured 
forth her loftiest strains — her most enraptured and 
glowing descriptions : and, surely, if that dispensation 
had to be ushered in by the preaching of the gospel, as 
it is preached in these days — had to exist upon the 
earth previous to the coming of the Son of man, and 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH, 



197 



immediately precede his advent, it might have 'been 
expected that he would have mentioned that to his 
disciples as one of the signs ; and the most important 
sign of his coming. It might have been expected that 
among the signs which he mentioned this would have 
its own prominent and conspicuous place ; that he would 
have said, the gospel shall be preached among all 
nations — all men shall believe, and holiness and bles- 
sedness, righteousness and peace embracing each other, 
shall reign a thousand years upon earth previous to my 
coming. But the latter day glory of the church — the 
millennium holds no place among the signs mentioned 
to intimate the Lord's coming, and, therefore, the con- 
clusion is, that the millennium will not precede the 
second advent of the Son of man ; but according to the 
uniform teaching of Scripture, and particularly the 
twentieth chapter of Revelation, will be introduced by 
his coming, and perpetuated by his presence and right- 
eous government, when he shall sit upon the throne of 
his father David. " The Lonb of hosts shall reign in 
mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients 
gloriously/ 7 The time then, when Christ returns to 
earth, destroys his enemies, raises the saints from their 
graves, converts the nations, introduces the millennium, 
is the time when the kingdom shall be given to him. 

But while the time is thus pointed out by the con- 
currence of such a multiplicity of events, a question 
naturally arises, What is the probable date of the king- 
dom being given to Messiah ? In speaking upon this 



198 THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



point caution is necessary, in consequence of the differ- 
ent results in the calculation ; and the consequences 
that have followed because of the inaccuracy of these 
calculations. Every person in these days is familiar 
with the mistakes of the pious and zealous Mr. Miller ; 
with the confidence he manifested in the accuracy of 
his calculations respecting the advent of the great God 
and Saviour ; and the unhappy results that followed 
when the Lord Jesus did not come at his computed 
time. If his eye had not been so fixed upon dates that 
he could see nothing else— could not discern the signs 
of the times, he would not have made such unhappy 
mistakes. At the very time he was proclaiming the 
year of Messiah's return to earth with such confidence 
over the land ; and his fanatical followers preparing 
with such industry and zeal their ascension robes, as 
they were foolishly called, and of which the scriptures 
know and teach nothing ; we maintained he was mis- 
taken, simply because the signs of the times were not 
fully developed nor fulfilled ; the great convulsions 
among the nations had not taken place ; the prophetic 
doom of the toe kingdoms had not come, nor the pre- 
dictions concerning the Jews been fulfilled. The pre- 
ceding and contemporaneous events, as foretold by the 
Hebrew prophets, must coincide with the date ; must 
have their fulfilment according to their order before 
and at the time of the date ; but as these predicted 
events immediately preceding the Lord's return in the 
clouds of heaven, were not being fulfilled, the inevita- 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



199 



ble and correct conclusion, as time has shown, was, that 
Mr. Miller was certainly in error as regards dates. 

The events that are to transpire — the convulsions 
that are to take place among the nations, especially 
among those symbolized by the ten-horned beast, seem 
to have begun and be in rapid progress. The explosive 
materials have been laid, the fuses arranged, and in 
many instances the hand seems approaching with the 
match ; and the touch may soon be given which will 
convulse the whole and place them in the very position 
in which prophecy declares they shall be at the coming 
of the Sox of man. All this may be done, and pro- 
phecy by the time which it mentions, by the dates 
which it gives, and the events which it reveals and 
declares shall precede and occur at the coming of the 
Sox of man favours the opinion and the calculation, that 
all this will be done in the short time of about twelve 
years. According to the calculations of many, the Sox 
of man will return to earth about the year 1866, and 
then the kingdom will be given to him. In common 
with many others the talented author of the pamphlet 
entitled, " The Coming Struggle of the Xations of the 
Earth, " holds this opinion. He seems profoundly 
instructed in the prophets, and to see with peculiar 
clearness the movements and destiny of the nations, the 
struggle through which they have to pass, the coming 
of Messiah : the destruction of the Wild Beast and his 
armies ; the introduction of the millennial kingdom, 
and the giving of the kingdom to the Son of man by the 



200 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM 



Ancient of days, and is therefore well worthy of care- 
ful perusal. By seemingly correct calculations, he 
makes it appear that twelve years hence, or in the year 
1866, the glorious kingdom will be given to Messiah, 
and then he, with his saints, will possess the earth— 
the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heavens. 

Twelve years ! How short a time is twelve years ; 
and yet how long to that servant waiting for the coming 
of his Lord ! and crying in sincere desire, " Come, Lord 
Jesus, come quickly." Glorious event ; the glory of 
all that is glorious ! Rapturous day, if we really love 
the Lord and his appearing ! Who can anticipate that 
day without the most thrilling emotions, without look- 
ing for it with the most vehement desire ? The 
thought, the anticipation of that day make believers in 
Jesus madmen, and fit only for the cell of the Lunatic 
Asylum ! Ah ! then may the thought — the anticipa- 
tion of the coming bridegroom to the much desired 
nuptials by her waiting for him, make the bride a 
maniac ; disqualify her for the matrimonial life and 
send her to live and rave with insanity ! Away, away 
with such misrepresentation and blasphemous lies. 
As soon might the thought of seeing and meeting the 
Saviour in Paradise after death make the dying Chris- 
tian a maniac and send him raving in madness into 
eternity — as soon might the thought of seeing him at 
the day of judgment, which is precisely the same thing, 
produce such results — produce insanity. No, no. The 



SHALL BE GIVEN TO MESSIAH. 



thought of the coming of the Saviour, the Lord, the 
King being near, being twelve years hence, tomorrow, 
or even to-day, will never make genuine, humble 
believers madmen. Oh ! it is this very event they 
desire — this very event they are waiting and praying 
for — the very event for which they are groaning within 
themselves ; and when they realize its nearness shall 
they become maniacs ? If they do by anticipation what 
will be their condition — what their madness when the 
glorious sight is revealed and they actually see Jesus 
coming in his own and his Father's glory? TTe shrink 
from such a thought and doctrine as this, and contend 
that the doctrine of the coming or near coming of the 
Son of man to receive the kingdom, is calculated to pro- 
duce no such effect upon the mind of his people, but the 
reverse ! for it is the doctrine calculated to fill them 
with gladness — to make them lift up their heads with 
joy ; for in it they see their redemption drawing nigh 
— the time when they shall receive the crown of right- 
eousness from the Lord the righteous Judge — "they 
love His appearing. ?? And when the supremely desired 
event takes place, when He appears in glory, in the 
glory-streaming heavens, they will cry in the gladness 
of their heart — in the raptures of their soul, l ' Lo, this 
is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save 
us ; this is the Lord ; we have waited for Him, we will 
be glad, and rejoice in Sis salvation.'' 

" The righteous, undismayed, and bold — best proof 
This day, of fortitude sincere — sustained 

9* 



202 



THE TIME WHEN THE KINGDOM, &C. 



By inward faith, with acclamations loud, 
Received the coming of the Son of man ; 
And, drawn by love, inclined to his approach, 
Moving to meet the brightness of His face." 



THE KINGDOM GIYEX TO MESSIAH, &C. 



203 



CHAPTER V. 

BY WHOM THE KINGDOM IS TO BE GIYEX TO MESSIAH — 
BY THE LOED GOD. 

M The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father 
David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of 
His kingdom there shall be no end/' — Luke i. 32. 33. 

The glorious and eternal kingdom to be giYen to 
Messiah upon His return to earth, is not in the posses- 
sion of men, nor to be bestowed by the people. The 
nation of Israel still in coYenant faYour with God — 
the combined kingdoms of the earth, will not. cannot 
eYen if they were disposed, which they will not be, 
bestow the kingdom upon Jesus. According to the 
angel Gabriel it is to be giYen to Him by a greater 
than they : by the Lord God who created all things, 
and in whose hand is the breath and destiny of all 
flesh living. He gaYe it to Him by coYenant and pro- 
mise, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, DaYid, and His 
Yirgin mother — He gaYe it by coYenant and promise 



204 THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



unto Himself ; and at the appointed time, He will give 
it to Him by actual gift and possession. The Lord has 
now set Him at His right hand, till He make His 
enemies His footstool ; and after that great work is 
achieved He will give Him the kingdom. " Ask of me 
and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron : thou shalt 
dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 7 ' 1 " He shall 
judge among the heathen ; he shall fill the places with 
dead bodies ; He 'shall wound the heads over many 
countries. 77 

These, and many other passages of scripture teach, 
that the kingdom is to be given to Prince Messiah, by 
God the Father ; but it is deemed unnecessary to enter 
further into this. 

Daniel in vision beheld this glorious transaction ;— 
the Lord God giving the kingdom to the Son of the 
highest, to Prince Messiah, and describes it in these 
words, Dan. vii. 13, 14. " I saw in the night visions, 
and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the 
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and 
they brought Him near before Him. And there was 
given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that 
all people, nations and languages should serve Him. 77 
According to this then, the kingdom will be given to 
Messiah, the Son of the highest, the prince of peace by 
God the Father. And without going further into this, 
that God the father will give the kingdom to Messiah, 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



205 



His beloved Son, according to the covenant made with 
Him. He having perfectly fulfilled the conditions of 
that covenant ; it may be remarked that the Lord will 
give it, as vre have seen, at the time when the thrones 
are set for judgment ; vrhen the last remnants of the 
fourth Monarchy— the ten kingdoms are destroyed. 
The kingdom which he has purchased, by humiliation, 
suffering and death : the earth which has been watered 
by His compassionate sorrowful tears, and baptized 
with His piacular blood, and redeemed by the merits 
of the same, shall be given to Him by the father. 
" I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have 
sworn unto David my servant, thy Seed will I 
establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all gene- 
rations." <f The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, 
he will not turn from it. Of the Fruit of thy body 
will I set upon thy throne. And vrhen the Lord God 
gives to Messiah, this "kingdom His by promise and 
covenant, His by redemption, He may address Him in 
sentiments like these, so beautifully expressed by the 
poet— 

44 Come then, and added to thy many crowns, 
Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, 
Thou who alone art worthy ! It was thine 
By ancient covenant, ere nature's birth ; 
And thou hast made it thine by purchase since, 
And overpaid its value with thy blood. 
Thy saints proclaim Thee King ; and in their hearts 
Thy title is engraven w-ith a pen 
Dipt in the fountain of eternal 1qvq,' ? 



206 THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



• In conclusion, it may be remarked, that from all this, 
there are some very important lessons to be learned, 
and some very precious consolation to be derived ; and 
to these it may be proper and profitable briefly to 
advert. 

1. Notice then for a moment the blessedness that 
shall prevail upon the earth when the kingdom shall 
be given to the Son of the Highest. 

The King of righteousness, mercy and peace seated 
upon the throne of His father David, and swaying the 
sceptre of equity over an emancipated and redeemed 
world, every petty tyrant that would lord it over his 
fellow men, shall be crushed to the dust : every arm of 
oppression that would make the helpless tremble and 
groan under its power shall be broken, and all enjoy 
the glorious " liberty of the sons of God" — all feel that 
they are the freemen of Him, who has redeemed them 
with His blood, and unite in singing the song, " unto 
Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His 
own blood ; and hath made us kings and priests unto 
God, and His father, to Him be glory and dominion 
for ever and ever. 7 ' The light of divine truth, stream- 
ing in cloudless splendour from the pure fountain of 
eternal truth — emanating from the face of Jesus like 
brightness from the sun — chasing away ignorance and 
error from all hearts and conduct ; the kingdom of the 
Lord shall shine in unclouded perfection upon every 
soul, filling all with the enrapturing knowledge of 
Him. Then shall men know even as they are known. 

Hatred too, the offspring of hell, shall find no lurk- 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



207 



ing-place in any bosom : no home in any heart of any 
inhabitant of that kingdom, for it is the kingdom of 
Messiah — the kingdom of pure, holy, sincere universal 
love. Oh ! love is the atmosphere, the law. the lan- 
guage, the very nature of that kingdom, for Christ 
who is love will be all in all. This omnipresence of 
divine love, everywhere dominant, and everywhere 
supremely felt will unite all — all earth's inhabitants in 
its perfect bliss-inspiring confederacy, and make all 
perfectly happy in its undisturbed and endless reign, 
and realize the scene of beauty and bliss so graphically 
depicted by the Hebrew prophet, and so sweetly poured 
forth by Israel's harp. " Righteousness shall be 
the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the gir- 
dle of His reins. The wolf shall dwell with the 
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; 
and the calf, and the voting lion and the fatline 
together : and a little child shall lead them. And the 
cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie 
down together ; and the lion shall eat straw like the 
ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of 
the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand 
on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all God's holy mountain." Perfect happi- 
ness shall have its undisturbed habitation in every 
breast — shall be the portion of every soul ; and every 
tongue shall join with rapture in the world's epithala- 
mium, when the universal song of love and blessedness 
ascends to Him. who reigns in righteousness over its 



208 



THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



redeemed domains, and the cry bursts from the all 
happy inhabitants, ; ' Behold the tabernacle of God is 
with men.' 7 

2. Notice the duty of waiting for Messiah's coming 
kingdom. 

That it is our duty to wait for the Lokd ? s coming and 
kingdom, is made certain by His own teaching, as well 
as that of His disciples and apostles. Again and 
again He referred to this event ; and referred to it as an 
event of the very utmost importance to every man — an 
event of such fast importance, that it ought to be first 
in our heart and affections ; and that preparation for it 
ought to form the principal, the sole business of life. 
This duty of such importance and magnitude, Christ 
frequently inculcated upon His disciples, and the 
multitude who waited upon His preaching. Ever and 
anon, we find Him addressing them in words like these, 
u Be ye also ready, for at such an hour as ye think not 
the Son of Man cometh." " Watch and pray, for ye 
know not at what hour the Son of Man will come." 
Now these and many similar passages, have no refer- 
ence whatever to death, though they are frequently 
quoted by many as referring to that event. Such an 
use or application of these passages is beyond all con- 
troversy a gross and unpardonable misapplication of 
holy scripture. They refer not to death, but to the 
personal, visible coming of the Son of Man at His 
return to earth, to receive the kingdom, and sit upon 
the throne of His father David. And that this is the 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



200 



event to which they refer is palpably manifest from 
the connexion in which they stand, for Christ was not 
speaking to them of death, but of His coming to judg- 
ment at the last day : and also, from the meaning of 
the Greek word, which literally signifies to be present : 
to be personally present face to face. This. then, being 
the true meaning of these passages, Christ frequently 
by command, solemnly imposes upon us, the solemn 
and important duty of waiting and preparing for His 
return to earth — to judgment and His kingdom. 

The faithful in every age have understood these, and 
kindred passages as teaching this doctrine, and incul- 
cating this duty : and consequently they waited for 
and desired the personal coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. When the thief in death-agony on the cross 
was converted, it appears that the glorious coming, 
and consequent blessedness of Messiah's kingdom was 
revealed with peculiar clearness to his view, and hence 
his prayer, " Lord, remember me when thou earnest in 
thy kingdom" His eye looked into the far future, and 
saw Jesus who then hung by his side upon the cross, 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great- 
glory, the anointed judge of all mankind, and the king 
of the new creation, and felt the conviction pressing 
with overwhelming power upon his mind and soul, if 
Christ would only remember him in that day. and 
take him into His kingdom with Him, he would be 
supremely and eternally happy ; and accordingly he 
prayed only for this one thing. His petition was 



210 



THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



answered by the best assurance, that his request would 
be granted. He replied, " to-day shalt thou be with 
me in Paradise," w T hieh was the guarantee, that when He 
with all His saints would come into His kingdom, He 
would be with them. The Thessalonians, after their 
conversion, turned to God from idols, to serve the 
living and true God, and to vsait for His Son from 
heaven, " whom He raised from the dead.'' Bishops 
Bradford, Ridley, Latimer, and other martyrs were 
comforted and sustained by the same precious truth — 
they looked for the coming of the Lord. Oh ! let us 
not, then, cherish the infidel feeling, or give utterance 
to the infidel sentiment, "The Lord delayeth His 
coming." Let us not regard that event as far distant ; 
but as near at hand. If the Thessalonians, under the 
immediate teaching and influence of the Holy Spirit, 
waited for the Son of man from heaven, how much 
more imperative is this duty upon us who live in these 
last times : — these times full of the thickening signs of 
His coming, each having in it a distinct voice intimat- 
ing the nearness of the event ; and all these signs and 
busy onward movements proclaiming by the mighty 
noise of their commotions, the preparations in progress 
for His advent, amidst the din of which, the attentive, 
listening ear may hear the prelusive sounds of His 
appearing. Let us not look at death as an event that 
may intervene ; for with that we have nothing to do. 
The Lord and His disciples never teach or inculcate 
the duty of watching and w r aiting and preparing for 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



211 



death, but uniformly for His coming in glory and judg- 
ment. It is therefore our supreme duty to be watching 
and waiting for the personal coming of the Son of Man, 
and that the more, inasmuch as we see the day draw- 
ing nigh ; so that we may be ready for it, and even 
now in our earnest desire to see it, cry with the 
believing multitude, " Come, Lord Jesus, come 

QUICKLY." 

Reader, are you watching and waiting for the Lord's 
personal coming and kingdom ? Are you ready for 
that glorious day and its solemn and unalterable 
decisions? Oh, seek to be ready! Let nothing pre- 
vent you from making the necessary preparation. 
Give your heart, your time, your all to the work — 
watch, pray, wait, for at such a time as ye think not 
the Son of Man cometh. 

3. Notice the influence which the certainty of the 
Father giving the Kingdom to the Son, or the introduc- 
tion of Christ's kingdom into the earth, should have 
upon our mind and conduct. 

The giving of the kingdom to Christ, or its introduc- 
tion into the earth ; or the personal coming of the Son 
of man, which are one and the same thing, is the grand 
divine argument everywhere advanced throughout the 
New Testament to persuade and urge men to the per- 
formance of everv dutv ; and to encourage and sustain 
and comfort Christians under all their trials. The 
argument to persuade to the performance of duty, and 
the consolation to sustain under severe trials,, is not the 



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THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



shortness of life and the certainty and nearness of death. 
These may be advanced by men, and are frequently 
advanced by men ; but they are not divine but human 
arguments, and consequently powerless, worthless. 

God's arguments to persuade and urge men to the 
performance of duty — to attend promptly, faithfully to 
the great business of life : and his consolations to sus- 
tain them under the sufferings and trials of such a life 
are all drawn from the glorious coming of the Son of 
man to judgment, or something connected with that 
coming. A few examples may suffice to illustrate the 
truth of these remarks. Is repentance a work necessary 
to the reception of the Saviour and obtaining eternal 
life ; the great duty inculcated upon impenitent, perish- 
ing men ? The coming of the Son of man to judgment 
is the mighty argument to persuade to the performance 
of this duty ; John cried to the multitude waiting upon 
his ministry, ,l Repent ye, for the kingdom, of heaven is at 
hand;' 1 Matt. iii. 2. Peter when enforcing the same 
duty upon the Jews for crucifying the Lord of glory 
said, " Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your 
sins may be blotted out, when the time of refreshing 
shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall 
send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, 
whom the heavens must receive until the times of the 
restitution of all things Acts iii. 19-21. Is love to 
Christ, which gives heart and affection all to Him, the 
great and glorious duty inculcated ? His coming is the 
argument to obedience. " If any man love not the 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



213 



Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha 
which being interpreted is, " Let him be accursed — our 
Lord cometh;" 1 Cor xvi. 22. Are men exhorted to 
mortify their lusts and live lives of faith and holiness ? 
It is by the coming of the Lord. " The grace of God 
that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teach- 
ing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this pre- 
sent evil world ; looking for that blessed hope, (even) 
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ Tit. ii. 11-13. Is holiness inculcated 
— purity in heart and life — conformity to the character 
of the Saviour ? It is by the coming of the Lord. " We 
know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, 
for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that 
hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is 
pure 1 John iii. 2, 3. Are works of mercy, acts of 
kindness, benevolence to the poor inculcated ? It is by 
the coming of the Lord, as is clearly taught in the last 
parable of the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew's gospel. 
Is watchfulness inculcated ? It is by the coming of the 
Lord. " Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day 
nor the horn* ichen the Sox of man cometh Matt.xxv. 13. 
Are patience and long-suffering amidst all the troubles 
and trials of the present life, and self-denial and per- 
secutions of the Christian warfare inculcated ? It is 
by the coming of the Lord and the recompense that 
shall be awarded on that day. " Be patient, therefore, 
brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the 



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THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, 
and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early 
and latter rain. Be ye also patient, stablish your heart, 
for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh / w Jas. v. 7, 8. 
Are ministerial fidelity and diligence, unwearied labours 
to win souls to Christ inculcated ? It is by the coming 
of the Lord. " I charge thee therefore, before God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom ; preach 
the word, be instant in season and out of season ; 
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doc- 
trine 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2. Is consolation offered to those 
who are mourning the loss of Christian friends, and 
weeping because the grave has hidden those whom they 
loved from their eyes ? This consolation, too, is offered 
through the coming of the Lord. "But I would not 
have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 
which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died 
and rose again, even so them also, which sleep in Jesus, 
will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you 
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive 
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not 
prevent them which are asleep; 77 1 Thess. iv. 13-15. 
Is consolation amidst trials, persecutions, or in the pros- 
pect of death administered? It is by rewards to be 
bestowed at the coming of the Son of man. " Hence- 
forth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



215 



that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love his appearing f 2 Tim. iv. 8. " When the 
chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown 
of glory that fadeth not a Tray f 1 Pet. v. 4. 

From this very hasty view and meagre outline of 
examples, it does appear manifest that the second and 
glorious comina* of the Son of man is the grand ara-u- 
rnent of Scripture and of infinite Wisdom, who knows 
best what will operate most readily, most certainly, 
most powerfully upon the mind and consciences of men, 
to persuade to the full and faithful performance of every 
duty ; and the source of supreme consolation to every 
believer amidst all the trials of the Christian life. 
And if this be the case, as it certainly is, then it is the 
obvious duty of every one to keep the grand and glo- 
rious event of Christ coming to judgment, coming to 
His kingdom, before his mind, that by its mighty stirring 
influence, he may be urged on amidst all the discourage- 
ments in his wav. to the faithful and persevering per- 
formance of every duty, and be sustained amid all trials 
by its abounding consolation. 

Reader, turn your eye to that most glorious event, 
which will soon fill heaven and earth with its dazzling 
and awful glory, the personal coming of the Lord of 
glory to judgment and His kingdom. Contemplate 
that scene of unutterable, inconceivable, divine splen- 
dour and majesty, affecting, changing all things on 
earth. Endeavour to realize it. for it shall soon in all 
its ineffable grandeur be unfolded to your view, Soon 



21G 



THE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH 



the eye that traces these lines, the immortal being that 
ponders these truths, shall behold the Son of man 
bursting from these heavens which have so long received 
Him, His eyes like a flame of fire, and on His head 
many crowns ; accompanied, surrounded by the radiant, 
happy multitude which no man can number, saved out 
of all nations, kindreds, and tongues, " clothed in linen 
clean and white and the myriads of His holy angels, 
whose vast numbers and outspread wings cover the 
whole heavens, and the glory of the glorious Lord 
pouring in floods of brightness all around. Soon you 
shall hear the awful, the dead-awakening, the grave- 
opening voice of the Archangel and the trump of God, 
pealing their omnipotent notes from the excessive 
brightness of the terrible glory of the descending Judge, 
" whose throne is like the fiery flame and His wheels 
like burning fire and see as these roll round the 
earth, the tombs opening, the dead awakening, and 
hurrying in vast numbers from their dark beds ; the 
earth, the great metropolis of the dead everywhere 
heaving with the mighty impulses of life, and pouring 
forth her countless, deathless swarms. As he ap- 
proaches you shall see earth s stable and mighty mili- 
tary guarded thrones shake and tumble to the dust — 
crowns which have long decked the head of Majesty 
and been the ornament, the pride, if not the god of the 
haughty wearer, fall from the brow of earthly sove- 
reignty and be trodden under foot, worthless and 
despised things — sceptres for the obtaining of which 



BY THE LORD GOD. 



217 



seas of human blood have been shed, and many plains 
strewed with the dead — which have been seized with 
eager hand and held with life grasp, tossed away, use- 
less by those who so vehemently desired them. You 
shall see Antichrist, who has been drunken with the 
blood of the saints, given to the unquenchable flame, 
and consumed with devouring burning — the mother of 
abominations cast into the lake of fire and brimstone — 
the smoke of her torment ascending — hear the saints 
exclaiming in rapture over her doom and the infliction 
of her righteous punishment ; " Allelujah ! allelujah, 
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 

Ah ! yes, reader, you shall soon see all this, nor shall 
you be an isolated, a disinterested spectator. Tou 
shall have your place in all this ; but where will your 
place be ? what will your situation be ? You will not, 
cannot be an uninterested spectator. Ah ! no. You 
will hold a place in the scenes of that day, and the place 
which you occupy will involve your destiny for eternity. 
At that time the throne of David shall be built up, and 
the Son of the Highest shall ascend that throne ; and 
He with His redeemed and glorified saints take pos- 
session of the renewed earth, and the reign of Christ 
and His saints, a reign of more than Paradisiacal glory 
and blessedness begin, — a reign which shall have no 
end. Oh, reader, will you be among the glorified 
saints that will inherit that kingdom? Have you 
believed in Christ ? Is your soul washed in His 
blood and clothed in his righteousness? Have you all 

10 



218 TEE KINGDOM GIVEN TO MESSIAH, &C. 

your arrangements and preparations completed for the 
coming of the Son of man and the decisions of that 
day ? Oh ! be persuaded amidst all the bustle and tur- 
moil of the present vanishing life, to keep your eye ever 
turned to that event — ever steadfastly fixed upon it — ■ 
endeavour habitually to realize it, live, act, as if the 
scene were visible over your head, and you were wind- 
ing up the great business of life in the increasing flood 
of its resplendent glory— ready to welcome your coming 
Loed and with Him enter in triumph and glory into 
His kingdom. 



THE END. 



H 




